A Tale of Two Christmas Ads

ads, business, family, happiness, health related issues, humor, lessons learned 2 Minutes

I’m guessing many of you have heard about and perhaps seen, the latest Peloton ad in which a husband surprises his wife with a Peloton bike for Christmas.

The ad, all of thirty seconds long, may be the most expensive ad ever produced, far exceeding the cost of Super Bowl commercials. Last year, a Super Bowl commercial cost an advertiser about $5 million. This one thirty-second commercial probably cost Peloton twice as much as ALL ads shown during the 2019 Super Bowl ad.

How is this possible? Was it the cost of the actors in the commercial? Was it set costs; production costs?

No, it was the fact that within two days of the commercial airing, Peloton’s stock price lost nearly $1 billion dollars in value.

In case you haven’t seen the ad, or as a reminder, here it is:

I may be in the minority here, but I don’t really see the problem. I would be thrilled if someone got me a Peloton for Christmas (hint, hint). It’s a gift of health, and what better gift is there. Anyway, the purpose of this post is really not to get into a discussion of this ad. There is already enough of that has taken place in the past few days. In fact, there are several satires of the ad which are quite good (see the end of this post for a couple of those satires; warning – explicit language).

But to counter all the negative backlash that has erupted over the Peloton ad, here’s a Christmas ad that will hopefully put a smile on everyone’s face. It’s from a hardware store in the Welsh town of Rhayader. The total cost of the commercial was $130, and that was to pay for licensing the song “Forever Young”.

Here’s the ad which features the tagline, Be A Kid This Christmas:

The video stars four generations of the family which owns Hafod Hardware, and rivals the more famous, and more expensive, holiday ads of British retailers such as John Lewis and Sainsbury’s.

Added bonus: here are a couple of the Peloton satire ads:

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

 

Published by Jim Borden

A 60-something guy trying to figure out the world, and his place in it. Happily married for 40-plus years, three wonderful sons. Accounting teacher, fitness enthusiast, blogger, reader.

Published

21 thoughts on “A Tale of Two Christmas Ads”

  2. I find the uproar over this ad as just plain silly. In 30 seconds, with little, or more accurately, no context, people were in a tizzy about it. Without context, the only thing someone can complain about is what their own bias and misperceptions project onto the scene and situation. I am offended by how easily people are offended.

    Like

    Reply

  3. the hardware ad is brilliant and heartwarming. the upset over the pelleton ad is not really worth all of the energy. if you don’t like it, don’t watch it. not worth protesting. many larger issues in the world you could spend your time getting worked up about, but to each their own. in my past career, I worked in the advertising field, and it’s hard to know how something that makes sense in a room in isolation, will play to a larger audience. win some, lose some.

    Like

    Reply

    1. I am sure Peloton meant well; it’s a shame that people are projecting their own thoughts into what Peloton was trying to convey. But I agree, there are bigger issues to focus on.

      Like

      Reply

  4. There are a lot of presents you can take offence at if you really try hard (soap, perfumes, window vacuum washer – yes I did get one of those from hubby, bless him…). One year we gave my mum chocolates for her birthday and she asked if we were trying to make her fat.
    Why are some people so quick to find offense?
    If someone sets out to offend, ignore them. If they do it by accident, perhaps make them aware of the connotatons, so they don’t offend anyone else.
    Unless the offender is a corporation, in which case it’s fine to laugh; the bigger the corporation, the better the joke.

    Like

    Reply

  5. Wow. That’s something. I’ve been following this and heard the male actor has been verbally attacked in public on several occasions. Even though it’s fake, it has staying power. Reminds me of the SNL skit parody of Sarah Palin where actress says she can see Russia from her back porch ( not exact quote) and the anti -Palin folks attributed it to her. If Peloton did lose that much, my guess is someone(s) at an ad agency is having a very sad Christmas because they just got fired.

    Like

    Reply

    1. I just heard it was actually $1.5 billion that Peloton lost, but what’s a half billion… I am sure someone is going to take heat for the ad. I was just listening to Michael Smerconish, and he is of the same mindset as I am – why are people getting upset over a gift of health?

      Like

      Reply

  6. Of course the Welsh ad is great, we all love a sweet child and hardware shops. I hope their shop thrives for another five generations. As for the bike – not sure why people would be upset, but a realistic advertisement would show the bike abandoned in the garage on New Year’s Day.

    Like

    Reply

  8. I did not actually understand what the problem is with the bike commercial until I saw the parodies… I see, as a girl I understand, but if my husband give it to me, I won’t be insulted. I’ll tell him to return and buy me a real bike I can use for leisure.

    The hardware commercial is cute. But the song… I prefer the original from Alphaville.

    Like

    Reply

  9. I saw this on Inside Edition, people are way to sensitive. The internet has given the world voice some for good and some for bad.

    Like

    Reply

  10. I personally didn’t think the Peleton ad was offensive or misogynistic I just assumed his wife was super into fitness and he got her a gift she would like.

    Like

    Reply
  11. Pingback: The Best of Britain’s Christmas Commercials, 2019 – Borden's Blather

Leave a comment