This Peloton Ad is Giving the World Major ‘Black Mirror’ Vibes

A Peloton commercial went viral over the weekend thanks to its bleak look at exercise and unhinged leading lady. The thirty second advertisement called “The Gift That Gives Back” aired non-stop Black Friday weekend and has now inspired Twitter to call it the “new season of Black Mirror,” among other horrors.

First thing’s first: what exactly is a Peloton? A Peloton is just the colloquial name for a Peloton brand indoor bike. (Also, the name “Peloton” refers to a group of cyclists who travel closely together in a pack during road races.) Fancy indoor cycling studios like SoulCycle, Flywheel, and yes, Peloton have risen in popularity in the last decade, but not every city, town, or suburban mom has access to these locations. Peloton created their own exercise bike that comes with a screen that connects remote cyclists to the Peloton classes. It’s either a miraculous use of technology that unites souls across the country, or a dystopian development that harkens back to the fascist TV screen that made Winston Smith workout in George Orwell’s 1984. You know, it really comes down to perspective.

The commercial in question follows an upper middle class woman’s journey after her husband gives her a Peloton bike for Christmas. What’s really striking about the clip is how nervous the woman is from beginning to end. She stutters in disbelief, “A Peloton?!” on Christmas morning and we immediately see her recording her first ride on her smart phone. “First ride. I’m a little nervous, but excited,” she says. However, she actually looks a lot nervous. In fact, she looks terrified. Like she’s the heroine of a horror film about to wander alone into a crypt.

Then the focus shifts to the woman’s habit of talking to her smartphone. She comes home from work, and tells her tiny digital friend that she’s used the Peloton “five days in a row. Surprised? I am.” Again, she looks really frazzled. Almost to the point of mental breakdown. We then see her talking in bed to the phone: “6 AM. Yay.” There’s not a hint of joy in her voice. We finally see her back on the bike and, drenched in sweat, saying, “That was totally worth it.”

We’re meant to assume that she’s been talking to her Instagram followers or WhatsApp chat group this whole time, but the next shot puts this into doubt. We watch her watching iPhone-like footage of herself on the bike. She’s watching this — with her husband — on their living room television. In the recorded footage, she standing by the bike saying, “A year ago, I didn’t realize how much this would change me.” There’s a montage! — A MONTAGE! — of her riding. Her daughter shows up once. And then she is back talking to herself. “Thank you.” Or, she’s talking to her husband. I don’t know.

Here’s what I do know. This commercial is not the Peloton’s fault. Oh no, you may think this ad is about how a Peloton coaxed a woman into madness. I’m here to tell you this is a false read. As someone who jokes that she loved Midsommar so much she joined the cult of cycling clubs this year, I can tell you that cycling doesn’t make you crazy. Much like Captain America’s supersoldier serum, it just amplifies whatever crazy you already have. For me, that’s making jokes about Midsommar whenever possible. For this woman, that’s talking to no one on her iPhone, her eyes full of constant dread, and obsessively filming her every workout just so she and her husband can watch it together.

In fact, the bike really doesn’t do much in this commercial. Instead, we’re focused on this nameless woman’s sad eyes and dead stares. She doesn’t change from the beginning to the end of the commercial, at all. Physically, she’s just as fit, and mentally, she comes across as more unhinged by the end. You can’t blame the Peloton for this because it’s literally done nothing in the narrative of this commercial.

This Peloton commercial keeps on doing nothing for the brand. Not only that, but it leans heavily into some pretty dark concerns about the psychology of self-image, and how we curate our life online (or through our phones). There’s also some bleak stuff about Christmas, marriage, and exercise culture in general. All in all, it just exacerbates really gnarly stereotypes about “crazy” cycling fans and how cycling studios are cult-like. Not cool!

Now if you excuse me, I have to sew flowers onto a sweat band so I can pretend to be the Midsommar May Queen in my 6:30 PM spin class.