Ryan Reynolds has unveiled a new ad for his Aviation American Gin that features Monica Ruiz (aka Peloton Wife), the actress who appeared in the controversial holiday season ad for Peloton stationary bikes.
The Peloton bike ad suffered widespread backlash on social media after it was released last month. Many viewers panned the ad for what they considered to be its tone-deafness, among other issues.
Monsters and Critics reported on the Peloton ad and the hilarious parody of the ad that viral video queen Eva Victor posted on Twitter.
Canadian-America actor Reynolds took to Instagram on Friday to post a video for his new Aviation American Gin ad that features Monica Ruiz (aka Peloton Wife). He also posted the ad on YouTube under the title “The Gift That Doesn’t Give Back.”
Reynold’s ad video has gone viral on Instagram with more than 3 million views. It is also trending on YouTube with more than 1.8 million views, as of writing.
The ad shows the Peloton actress, Monica Ruiz, sharing cocktails with two friends in a bar. She stares into space and appears lost in thought while her friends observe her with concern.
“This gin is really smooth,” she says at last.
“Yeah!” her friends say in unison.
“We can get you another one…,” one of her friends says.
“… If you like, you’re safe here,” says the other friend.
“To new beginnings,” Ruiz says after a brief pause. They raise their glasses and toast to “new beginnings.”
Ruiz’s friends then sip their drinks, but Ruiz gulps down her drink at once while her friends watch nervously. One of Ruiz’s friends then passes her drink to her and she quickly drains the glass.
“You look great, by the way!” one friend says after the camera focuses on a bottle of Reynold’s Aviation American Gin.
“Exercise bike not included. #AviationGin,” Reynolds captioned the video.
Viewers commented on social media that the scene at the bar appeared to be the aftermath of the social media storm over the Peloton bike ad. She appeared to be staring into space while struggling to process the negative reaction to the Peloton bike ad.
Luiz later appeared to confirm social media speculation when she told Deadline that Reynold’s Aviation Gin ad “helped me find some humor in the situation” that developed after the Peloton bike ad.
“When Ryan and his production team called about Aviation Gin, they helped me find some humor in the situation,” Ruiz said, according to Deadline. “I am grateful to both Peloton and now Aviation Gin for the work and giving me the opportunity to do what I love to do.”
Sean Hunter (aka Peloton Husband) defended the ad on Good Morning America.
Actor in the viral #Peloton ad speaks out. “That’s not who I am.” @ReeveWill has more. https://t.co/sMzVDFttxV pic.twitter.com/GflIL7gpD3
— Good Morning America (@GMA) December 6, 2019
“Once something goes viral, and it turns negative, people jump on that negative bandwagon and start to create any dialogue that they want,” Hunter said.