It usually takes a Super Bowl for an ad to generate the kind of reaction that the holiday commercial for Peloton bikes has received in recent weeks. The ad, which was quickly embroiled in controversy, shows a husband gifting his wife with the exercise bike for Christmas. Now the actor who played that faux-controversial husband has gotten his real-life girlfriend one of the bikes.
You read that right! Actor Sean Hunter, a.k.a. “that creepy Peloton husband,” took to Instagram to share the pretty hilarious picture. In it, he's standing next to his girlfriend, Cassidy Baras, who is sitting on the bike with a pretty enthusiastic expression regarding her boyfriend’s Christmas gift. See for yourself below:
Well, that is one way to humorously handle the backlash against the ad. Thankfully for “Peloton husband” and possibly the company at large, Sean Hunter's girlfriend seems happy with the gift. At least that's what it looks like; perhaps things would look differently if Baras didn't think she was being watched. Dun-dun-dun!
Sean Hunter's pic is something of a palate cleanser for the Peloton saga, which began with the company’s “The Gift That Gives Back” ad. Following the commercial’s release, the company and the ad's stars received a lot of flak from those who felt that the husband buying his wife a Peloton bike for Christmas insinuated that he was discontented with her physical shape. There was also some backlash for the wife’s thank-you video, in which she says she did not realize how much the exercise bike would change her, a notion that the husband reacts gleefully too as the commercial ends.
Will Sean Hunter’s girlfriend also make a video thanking him for the gift? If she does create one, it may not be the last consumers that will hear about the Peloton bike ad. Hunter’s post comes not long after a former Boy Meets World actress indicated the G-rated ad has X-rated potential within her burgeoning porn career.
Monica Ruiz, who plays the wife in the ad, has since spoken out following the controversy around it. As the backlash whirled around the commercial, she was offered a chance to star in an ad for Aviation Gin from none other than 6 Underground’s Ryan Reynolds and his production team. Ruiz accepted the role, and the ad reportedly came together in around 36 hours.
Ryan Reynolds, who's set to star in one of the most anticipated comedies of 2020, explained why he cast Monica Ruiz in the Aviation Gin ad shortly after Peloton's went viral, saying it was an empathetic move that related back to one of his early forays into the superhero genre, Green Lantern.
Will “Peloton husband” end up starring in another ad? His own career has taken an interesting route, and he seems to be having fun with the attention the commercial has received. Why shy away from one of the most talked-about ads of the year?
If you ready to do something besides hop on a Peloton bike, there is a lot to keep you busy instead! Netflix will have a smorgasbord of new 2020 content, and television in general will continue offering up fresh options with this winter’s premieres.
