(Reuters) – Peloton Interactive rose in a volatile trading on Monday following a parody ad firing back at an episode of a “Sex and the City” reboot TV series that suggested the company’s exercise bikes can be lethal.
The stock was last up about 2.5%, partly recovering from a route of over 5% on Friday that was blamed on a scene in the just-released series premiere. In the scene, the fictional Mr. Big suffers a fatal heart attack after taking a Peloton bike class.
The death of Big, played by actor Chris Noth, leaves a major character, actress Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw, a widow.
On Sunday, Peloton posted on YouTube a tongue-in-cheek commercial responding to the scene, featuring Noth and Jess King, a real-life Peloton instructor who plays one in the HBO Max television comedy-drama, “And Just Like That.”
Sitting intimately on a sofa in front of a fireplace, Noth says to King, “I feel great. Shall we take another ride? Life’s too short not to.”
The ad ends with a voiceover by actor Ryan Reynolds listing the health benefits of regular cycling.
Peloton’s stock has lost over half of its value since Nov. 4, when it warned that demand for its exercise bikes and treadmills was slowing faster than expected as people return to pre-pandemic habits.
Like Peloton, “Sex and the City” and “And Just Like That” are based in New York.
(Reporting by Noel Randewich; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
