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Peloton's Psychological Problems

12/13/2019

5 Comments

 
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by David Hagenbuch, founder of Mindful Marketing & author of Honorable Influence

“If my husband gave me a Peloton for Christmas, I’d give him divorce papers.”  Such raw emotion has typified reactions to the spin cycle maker’s “Gift that Gives Back” commercial.  People are permitted their opinions about the ad, and Peloton is entitled to explain its position, but a few principles from psychology might help both sides see how the cycle commercial could have avoided such a controversial turn.
 
Many reactions to the spot suggest that ‘no husband should surprise his wife with a piece of exercise equipment,’ regardless of her body-type.  That’s a valid point; however, before dismissing Peloton’s ad as complete incompetence, Abraham Maslow’s classic hierarchy of needs may remind us that there is often more than one reason for riding a stationary bike:
 
  • Physiological Needs:  Exercise doesn’t satisfy hunger or thirst; in fact, burning calories increases those needs.  Similarly, anyone ‘spinning’ isn’t resting; however, exercise can lead to better sleep.  That connection proves true for many, as it did recently for me:  After walking around New York City one day with family for hours, I enjoyed one of my best night’s sleep in months.
 
  • Safety Needs:  Exercise doesn’t immediately make us safe; however, cardiovascular fitness is an investment in long-term health, which connects to the second level of Maslow’s hierarchy.  Many viewers of Peloton’s ad have bemoaned that “Grace in Boston,” an already slim woman, even needs to exercise, but they’re missing the point that working out isn’t just about losing weight.  Thin people also reap health benefits from aerobic activity.
 
  • Social Needs:  In one tweet about the ad, a Peloton user mentioned that she appreciates the bonding that comes with working out with others.  People don’t need to be physically present to build relationships.  Social benefits can also accrue when interacting in the virtual realm, which apparently happens for at least some Peloton users.
 
  • Self-Esteem Needs:  All of us want to feel good about how we look and the kind of person we are.  Sticking to an exercise regimen can bolster both of those self-concepts.  Most viewers of Peloton’s ad don’t notice any physical change in Grace, but perhaps she experiences something intangible, like feeling more self-disciplined or self-confident.
 
  • Self-Actualization Needs:  There aren’t many products that can legitimately claim to help people reach their full potential in some significant area of life, but a piece of exercise equipment used seriously might produce such top-level benefits, partly like the way basic training transforms marines.  We don’t know exactly what Grace meant by the statement, “A year ago, I didn’t realize how much this would change me,” but if it wasn’t physical change, maybe a year of Pelton transformed her mentally or emotionally.
 
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The five levels of Maslow’s hierarchy offer consumers useful lenses for processing the controversial commercial.  A psychological principle can also teach Peloton an important lesson, summed up in one sentence:  “Perception is reality.”
 
We perceive when a stimulus crosses our senses, we attend to it, and we make an interpretation, for example:  “The big dog bounding toward me looks dangerous.”  Sometimes our interpretations are correct; other times they’re wrong.  However, whether they’re accurate or not, our perceptions determine our reactions.
 
As thousands of social media posts have suggested, people perceived things to be true of Peloton’s ad that the company apparently didn’t intend, for instance:
  • that Grace was initially overweight
  • that she wanted to become even thinner
  • that her husband pressured her to use the bike
 
Peloton can argue that these interpretations are incorrect, but ultimately the court of public opinion rules based on objective judgment of cues in the ad, prevailing social norms, and the broader cultural context, because perception is reality.
 
Some may suggest it was Peloton’s plan to cause a controversy that would capture publicity.  If so, the company probably didn’t anticipate a 14% stock price decline in three days.  Consumers can use Maslow to better understand what the cycle maker likely intended, but more importantly, companies like Peloton can learn to more effectively pretest their ads so corporate perceptions better align with consumer reality and don’t spin into “Mindless Marketing.”


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5 Comments
Susan Donat
12/16/2019 07:11:40 am

Have you seen the commercial featuring the same actress that seems to extend the story line, but produced by a different company? Interesting way for another company to get a boost from controversy/buzz surrounding the initial campaign.

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Rosey Jones
1/26/2020 08:12:12 pm

Our class just looked at the steps in planning and executing an ad campaign the other day and this is the sort of commercial advertisement that makes me wonder if it actually pretested the ad before they ran it on TV. Moreover, I wonder if the ones who wrote this entire advertisement and approved it were men (a downfall considering their target market). I am sure that Peloton had good intentions for their ad, which seemed to them like a women who desired this and her husband bought it for her as a gift. Presumably, the couple were stable enough in their own relationship, as well as in themselves, for the woman to take the fitness equipment with joy and actual appreciation. However, the truth of the matter is that couples in our society are not like this and fitness/body appearance/health can be a touchy topic, especially amongst women.

I am going to take a gander that Peloton's target market is middle aged men and women, especially parent-aged, and so to run a commercial that addressed one of the hottest topics in women's health today-- body image--is not wise because Peloton turned away likely 50% of their TM.

Overall, I agree that this advertisement was mindless-- it did not create much of ANY stakeholder value and was not the most decent and respectful either.

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Hannah Wagner
2/25/2020 09:05:29 pm

When I first watched the Peloton commercial, I thought it was mindful marketing. I saw the reaction to the gift which implied the meaning it had for the woman, I saw the sweet “thank you” that she gave to the man, and I saw the tagline saying “the gift that gives back” and thought it was all cleverly tied together. However, I read this post and thought I had missed the obvious social messages in the commercial! Did I miss it because I was focused on the slogan? Or because my body type is similar to that of the woman’s? I have concluded that Peloton’s target market is most likely middle-aged women/men and parents of sorts, or people who do not have time or space to go to a gym. Though I am a younger adult, I can say with certainty that body image is a hot topic among women of that target market and the commercial at face value is not sensitive to that. Dr. Hagenbuch makes a good point, however, that the benefits of a stationary bike are more than just physical; they include physiological, safety, social, self-esteem, and self-actualization. How discouraging is it that our society sees this commercial and only considers one of those areas important enough to comment on? If perception truly is reality, then Peloton needs to take society’s views into consideration, whether or not it agrees with them. Peloton must create new ads clearly identifying other benefits of the bikes or expressing the physical benefits in a way that does not offend its target market. I would highly suggest that if Peloton does not already have one, that it should form a team of diverse individuals of different genders, ages, backgrounds, status, and race in order to provide a sort of screening process for the ads that are being put out to the public. That way, they are able to avoid being mindless marketers and have viewpoints that are not as educated in the marketing realm as other employees are.

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9/7/2021 03:07:57 am

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