Update 12/17/2021: Peloton removed the ad after two women accused Chris North of sexual assault. “Every single sexual assault accusation must be taken seriously,” Peloton said in a statement, per CNBC. “We were unaware of these allegations when we featured Chris Noth in our response to HBO’s reboot” of the show. “As we seek to learn more, we have stopped promoting this video and archived related social posts.” Noth denied the allegations. “The encounters were consensual. It’s difficult not to question the timing of these stories coming out. I don’t know for certain why they are surfacing now, but I do know this: I did not assault these women,” he said.
Orginal: Ryan Reynolds, 45, played a big part in creating the 40-second Peloton ad that’s gone viral in the wake of Mr. Big’s death in And Just Like That. The actor’s marketing company, Maximum Effort, produced the ad, which features Mr. Big, a.k.a. Chris Noth, alive and well flirting on a couch with sexy Peloton instructor Allegra (played by Jess King). Ryan, who also narrates the Peloton spot, told The Hollywood Reporter that the entire advertisement was created within 24 hours. “I literally met Dara [Treseder, CMO of Peloton] for the first time on Dec. 1. She emailed us right after the episode aired and we all knew just what to do,” he explained. “We try to do these things in a way where everyone wins — Peloton, Chris and the show itself.”
Ryan went on to add that Chris, who viewers watched perish as Mr. Big went for a Peloton bike ride in And Just Like That‘s premiere episode, “was in right away” for the ad gig. “But it was a whirlwind,” the Deadpool star added. “For all of us. I certainly helped secure Chris, but Maximum Effort has built itself on challenges like these so, while never ever easy, the secret is practice and not losing heart when challenges inevitably occur.” Ryan also revealed that the Peloton ad cost around $80,000 to produce, but succeeded in a $900 million market cap restoration for the company.
“The response has been great,” he told THR of the ad, which is continuing to spread like wildfire all over social media. “It’s been really satisfying to work so hard so quickly toward something which is this much fun and have it work out. I think people like to see the spirit of Maximum Effort — that we want to have fun and bring people together but not ever at anyone’s expense.”
In the first episode of the Sex and the City reboot, Sarah Jessica Parker’s character Carrie Bradshaw finds the love of her life, Mr. Big, dying on their bathroom floor from a heart attack after he took a virtual ride with his instructor Allegra. The death scene caused a bit of a backlash for Peloton, as the company saw a decrease in sales and stocks take a tumble the day after the premiere. In response, Peloton issued a statement through Cardiologist Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, who detailed the positive effects of cycling and explained that exercise would have helped delay a heart attack.