TLDR Version: The backlash on the Peloton ad is over-hyped and misguided. The impact on sales will ultimately be neutral or positive. And if we’re going to get upset about something online, let it be about sex trafficking, the subjugation of women in certain countries, the Ebola outbreak, the riots in Hong Kong … but not an ad about a darn Christmas gift.

On Friday, CNN asked me to do a segment about the backlash on the Peloton ad. If you haven’t seen the ad, you can watch it below.

I’m a regular contributor on CNN when they want expert commentary on branding, marketing, and digital technology. (Side note: In the end, my segment on CNN got bumped, but if you’re interested in some of my other segments, watch this one about Facebook political ads or this one about the McDonald’s CEO firing.) 

I always try to share both sides of a story when I’m invited on so I can provide a balanced perspective. Given the backlash that was happening regarding the Peloton ad, one approach would be for me to jump on the bandwagon and talk about what a terrible decision this was for Peloton (as my friend Mark Schaefer did in this post on Friday). 

But I’m not a fan of following the crowd. I’m a fan of doing what’s right. And in this case, I think someone needs to speak up about the backlash against Peloton.

After all, the negative feedback is about more than an ad — it’s about a societal trend that is destroying civil discourse in our country.

In my opinion, the Peloton backlash is yet another example of “drive by social media” where people recoil in horror and disbelief over someone else’s purported politically incorrect or un-woke commentary online.

(President Obama, rightfully so, says that drive by social media is a lazy way to have civil discourse about important issues.)

People who hate the ad claim that, in addition to putting a stain on the Peloton brand, its sales will nose dive because people will reject the brand’s insensitivity. 

But recent history would indicate that that is probably not going to happen. As the Wall Street Journal highlighted, there are plenty of examples of campaigns that initially generated backlash but ultimately either had a neutral or positive impact on the brand:

  • Nike: The shoe maker’s stock slid 3.2% after it released an ad featuring former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. But Nike’s stock quickly rebounded, and the Oregon-based sneaker giant posted higher sales following the campaign’s release.
  • Gillette: Shares of Procter & Gamble fell 0.7% on Jan. 14, the day Gillette razor maker unveiled its “toxic masculinity” commercial tackling sexual harassment and bullying. But Procter shares rose by 0.9% the next day.
  • Pepsi: A PepsiCo ad in 2017 featuring celebrity Kendall Jenner was met with such harsh criticism that the beverage giant pulled the commercial. The company’s stock barely moved in the days following the onset of the controversy.

Admittedly, Nike, Gillette, and Pepsi were all taking a stand on controversial issues, which is one reason there was so much backlash. But does Peloton really deserve all this backlash because of a commercial about a Christmas gift?

We’ve got to stop this nonsense.

If we’re going to get upset about something online, let it be about sex trafficking, the subjugation of women in certain countries, the Ebola outbreak, the riots in Hong Kong … but not an ad about a darn Christmas gift.

I’m not saying that the Peloton ad was perfect. 

There are flaws in the campaign, ranging from the insensitivity regarding the possibility of backlash to the unusual style of editing throughout the spot. I get that. No problem there. 

Where I have a problem is that social media has driven a hype cycle that’s fueled by emotion, not logic. 

This is an ad. It wasn’t an assault on your beliefs, your way of life, or your morals. It was a TV commercial about one spouse giving a gift to another spouse. 

Again, my goal isn’t to say that the ad is perfect (no ad is). Instead, my goal is to speak the truth which is to say that this ad isn’t as bad as people are claiming it is.

Let’s take a look at the social media buzz about the spot.

There are a lot of social media sentiment analysis tools available. I used Talkwalker‘s online data and social analytics software to gather the information outlined below.

The first thing you’ll notice is that the buzz has increased 659%. The engagement has increased 727%.

Any brand would kill for that kind of buzz and engagement.

And, yes, while the net sentiment score over the past week is negative, I believe that data is a result of people participating in drive by social media where they add fuel to a fire that might ordinarily go out on its own.

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Let’s look at some other data points.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Peloton shares fell 15% Tuesday through Thursday, erasing nearly about $1.6 billion in market value. But Friday, Peloton shares bounced back, rising 4.2% to $32.63. And Friday’s close is still significantly up from where it was in early October, so things aren’t as bad as they might seem. (See share price below.)

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What do the actors in the Peloton ad have to say?

By now, you might be aware that Ryan Reynolds’ Aviation Gin has done a follow-up commercial that leverages the buzz to the benefit of the Aviation brand.  It’s a brilliant spot that uses Monica Ruiz (the actor in the original Peloton spot) to poke fun at all the chaos the Peloton ad created.

Ruiz issued a statement about the ad that sums things up nicely.

“I was happy to accept a job opportunity earlier this year from Peloton and the team was lovely to work with,” Ruiz said in a statement to Deadline through her agency, LA Talent. “Although I’m an actress, I am not quite comfortable being in spotlight and I’m terrible on social media. So to say I was shocked and overwhelmed by the attention this week (especially the negative) is an understatement.”

“When Ryan and his production team called about Aviation Gin, they helped me find some humor in the situation,” Ruiz said. “I am grateful to both Peloton and now Aviation Gin for the work and giving me the opportunity to do what I love to do.”

But Sean Hunter, the actor who played the husband in the Peloton spot, appeared to find less humor in the situation than Reynolds and Ruiz.

“People turned down a pretty dark path and it turned into a nasty thing,” the actor told Good Morning America in an interview. “Once something goes viral, and it turns viral, people jump on that negative bandwagon and start to create any dialogue they want.”

What lessons can we learn from all this?

Here are a few points I’d like to make about the intersection of media and culture that we’re seeing here:

  • I’m not saying the Peloton ad was perfect. Nor am I trying to minimize some of the sentiments people shared about it online. What I’m trying to say is that this is just an ad. Let’s save our fury for more important issues like climate change, political corruption, sex trafficking or dozens of other issues. After all, an ad is often just an ad.
  • I am saying that, once all the buzz dies down, the net impact on sales will be either be zero or slightly positive. That’s not to say that all PR is good PR (just ask VW). It’s just to say that in this particular case, Peloton has nothing to worry about in the long run.
  • We need to put the kibosh on drive-by social media. America was founded on the idea of tolerance and liberty. When we practice drive-by social media, we’re not helping things, we’re hurting things. I always tell my children that life is dramatic enough — you don’t need to add fuel to the fire. Perhaps it’s time we consider that with social media — that adding fuel to the fire doesn’t serve our country well. Instead of inflaming a situation, why not bring the commentary back to the center and tone things down a bit?

What are your thoughts? Am I under-estimating the impact the negative buzz will have on the brand? Or do you agree that this is yet another example of people jumping on the bandwagon with drive-by social media?

About the Author: Jamie Turner is an internationally recognized authority, author, and advisor who writes about the intersection of media and culture. Jamie (along with Tony Robbins, Ariana Huffington, and Richard Branson) was honored with the Socialnomics “Top Keynote Speaker” award. His roster of market leaders includes powerhouses such as The Coca-Cola Company, AT&T, Microsoft, Verizon, SAP, T-Mobile, and Holiday Inn. He is also the co-founder of A School Bell Rings, a 501c3 non-profit that helps impoverished children around the globe.