TV Heart Attacks Give Peloton Heart Palpitations [Abbott Media Group Blog]

Two TV shows featuring regular characters having heart attacks while using a Peloton exercise bike are giving the bike company heart palpitations.

Viewers were shocked when, during the premiere of HBO’s Max’s Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That, series regular “Mr. Big” (Chris Noth) had a heart attack on his Peloton. Turns out, the company not only knew about the product placement, but actively participated in the show featuring it.

But in January, the company got an unexpected jolt when yet another show featured a heart attack, this time, Showtime’s hit, Billions, portrayed longtime character Mike Wagner (David Costabile) as having a heart attack while using the bike.

The company released a statement on twitter saying they had nothing to do with THIS placement and didn’t approve its name or product’s use in the show.

“We get TV shows want to include @onepeloton to get people talking, but to be clear, we did *not* agree for our brand or IP to be used on @SHO_Billions or provide any equipment, As the show itself points out, cardio-vascular exercise helps people lead long, happy lives.”

As a popular appliance and icon of the pandemic age, the Peloton bike is surely well known enough to merit use and even ridicule in popular American culture.

But this wasn’t the first time the brand has had a PR crisis on its hands.

Most of us first learned of the bike through its infamous 2019 TV ad in which a rather thin, attractive young woman receives a Peloton bike as a Christmas gift from her husband,  making a video for hi in which she had a pained look on her face. The ad prompted many to question whether such a “gift” from a man would be inappropriate or even insulting.  

The resulting near-endless analysis of the ad was a PR disaster for the company, who had hoped for a more painless and positive launch.

The recent features the product has received are not *positive* either, but also not entirely negative.
The company’s response was quick and appropriate, and most people will understand that the product doesn’t have this effect on ALL of its users. Still, one doesn’t ever want your exercise product attached to the concept of a heart attack, or any other medical emergency.

Unlike Mr. Big, the company will survive this.

About That Controversial Gillette Ad - Should Corporations Engage In Social Commentary?

About the controversial Gillette ad, it's beautifully filmed and one could argue that it simply calls on men to step up and do what's right when they see men bullying and belittling women. Great. Long overdue, and there's nothing wrong with that general sentiment.

But the #MeToo movement the ad references often devolves into anti-male hate and a generalization that all men are inherently aggressive by their very nature, and need "fixing." This turns this into a politically-charged ad, and a socially polarizing one.

Should corporations be involved in political ads and "virtue signaling" about social issues at all? From a #PR point of view, these kind if ads can appeal to one side of an issue, but repel others, so they are inherently risky, and divisive.

Gillette, and its parent company Procter & Gamble, likely assumed that everyone would be on the side of not being rude to women, but the perception of the ad as an attack on all men, as some in the Me Too movement have sometimes sounded, seems to be overwhelming this benign interpretation of the ad, leading to a massive #boycottGillette effort, emerging on the social platforms Twitter and Facebook.

We have of course seen this before, as when companies such as 84 Lumber have waded into the immigration debate with a Super Bowl ad featuring illegal immigrants crossing the border.

Gillette now faces a boycott from men, their primary users, while getting praise from women. A dangerous economic strategy, and a warning for other companies that are tempted to wade into divisive political issues.

Stephen Abbott
#AbbottMediaGroup

"Stand By You" Budweiser 2018 #SuperBowlAd is a #PR Winner [Abbott Media Group]

Budweiser took the early lead in the "Public Relations Super Bowl" with its ad, "Stand by You," which aired early in the Third Quarter Sunday night.

The ad tells the story, in a simplified manner, of their efforts to provide cans of water to areas in need during natural disasters in Puerto Rico, California, Florida, Houston, and elsewhere.

I say "simplified," because the beer producing company clearly doesn't switch over to making water by pushing a single button in the brewing facility. But switch over they do, and the good they do is undeniable.

The ad is emotional and effective, clearly portraying the company and its dedicated employees in a positive light. And it's bound to be discussed in post-game discussions throughout the country's living rooms, as well as in the media early in the week. Those in areas of the nation they've served during natural disasters will definitely be talking about this.

This is a clear PR Win for the company, with great exposure during this high profile game.

Nicely done, Budweiser. You win the Super Bowl #PR Ad War!

--------------------
Let #AbbottMediaGroup throw a PR and Reputation "Touchdown" for your company, campaign or organization. www.abbottmediagroup.com