Storyboard18 #ICYMI: Peloton’s PR disaster, Ryan Reynolds’ CaaS service, sex toy ads at the 2022 Olympics

Ryan Reynolds is MNTN’s chief creative officer. (Image: screen grab)

When Peloton “killed” Mr Big

Spoiler Alert! Mr Big’s death by Peloton has left loyal fans of Sex And The City shocked and landed the company in a PR disaster. It all went down in the first episode after Mr Big’s 45-minute Peloton class led by fictional instructor Allegra.

Although the company knew it would appear in the series reboot - “And Just Like That ...”, Peloton claimed ignorance about the bike’s actual role. On the defensive now, in news reports, Peloton spokespeople even pointed to Mr Big’s unhealthy and extravagant lifestyle of cigars, cocktails and steaks and genes as the most likely causes of his heart attack.

That’s not all. The company’s reaction to the news raised questions among investors about its handling of its image, CNBC reported. Peloton received a ratings downgrade Friday (December 10) that “stoked ongoing concerns about weakening demand for its products.”

But Peloton can salvage the situation, somewhat.

Put a spin on it: Adweek quoted NYU Stern adjunct professor Allen Adamson who said Peloton “can capitalize and ride the attention successfully if they embrace being part of a much-watched and talked-about show.” Marketers, he said, shouldn’t think like lawyers.

Deadpool joined LinkedIn and launched Creative-as-a-Subscription (CaaS) 

Ryan Reynolds wants to make ads fun again. The actor recently joined LinkedIn and announced his new job: “I’m spending my sabbatical setting up my profile and launching a subscription service with MNTN. Promise I’m not writing an e-book… yet.”

No drunk dialing: Reynolds, a Hollywood A-lister known for portraying comic book character Deadpool, is building a business empire. He already has a successful gin brand, a telecom service and an ad company. Maximum Effort has been churning hits for his brands Aviation Gin and Mint Mobile and brands such as Netflix and Samsung. Sometimes all in the same ad and many starring Reynolds. The advertising hot shop recently merged with MNTN (pronounced “mountain”), an award-winning marketing software platform and introduced Creative-as-a-Subscription (CaaS). As the explosion of streaming TV consumption continues, CaaS aims to accelerate the adoption of connected TV as a performance marketing channel.

Reynolds, MNTN’s chief creative officer, said that for about 20 years, the advertising discussion has been around digital and data with TV creatives feeling a bit antiquated. "I genuinely love marketing but I don't think it has to be so overloaded with overthink, data deluge and process. That's what CaaS is. A simpler, faster and hopefully funner way to get great creative with less of the soul-sucking parts.”

Watch Reynolds explain his new job.

Sex toy ad too racy for Olympics curling crowd

On-ice ads for a sex toy company at the Beijing Olympics curling qualifying competition prompted US and Japanese broadcasters to pull matches off the air, as the ads were deemed too racy for audiences. The World Curling Federation said it was "an ongoing sponsor rights issue."

"During an Olympic qualifying tournament, it must of course be about the sport and not about the sponsor," Eric Idema, CEO of EasyToys parent company EDC, said in a statement, which was emailed to The Associated Press and translated from Dutch. "Curling also deserves that, as a sport that is one of the few mixed sports that is way ahead of its time. In fact, just like us."

The ads which appeared during the qualifying tournament in Leeuwarden, in the Netherlands, were removed and replaced with the statement "#equalityforall."