[This story contains spoilers from the first two episodes of HBO Max’s And Just Like That.]
And just like that, there was a viral ad.
Over the weekend, as Sex and the City fans were reeling from the shocking death of Mr. Big (Chris Noth) after completing a Peloton ride in HBO Max’s newly launched And Just Like That series, Ryan Reynolds quickly reminded all that everything was going to be OK in hilarious fashion.
With lightning speed, the star’s Maximum Effort marketing company produced a 40-second Peloton spot featuring Noth and the fitness company’s real-life instructor Jess King flirting on a couch in front of a fireplace. Reynolds provides the voiceover for the ad, assuring viewers that Noth is fine and listing several benefits of a Peloton.
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Once they were done cracking up, most wondered (via social media) how Reynolds and crew got that spot done so fast. Reynolds took The Hollywood Reporter for a ride around the ad’s “whirlwind” undertaking.
To start, there was no conversation between Maximum Effort and Peloton about the And Just Like That episode featuring Mr. Big’s demise debuted. The wheels were set in motion after it aired and fans lost their minds, Reynolds explains.
“By pure luck, we’d been talking to Peloton about our Creative-as-a-Subscription [launched with MNTN] product in the week before this all happened,” Reynolds tells THR. “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. We try to do these things in a way where everyone wins — Peloton, Chris and the show itself.”
The time from conception to cameras rolling was 24 hours, Reynolds notes, adding, “Chris was in right away, but it was a whirlwind. 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.”
The result: a viral ad covered by nearly all major media outlets; the new conversation drowning out reports that the And Just Like That moment resulted in a hit to Peloton stock shares. Reynolds’ video tweet alone has more than 1.1 million views since he posted it Sunday at noon. The ad, which cost around $80,000 to produce, resulted in a $900 million market cap restoration for Peloton.
“The response has been great,” Reynolds says. “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.”
https://twitter.com/VancityReynolds/status/1470121571058601985
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