A Peloton stationary bike played a key role in the revival of the new HBO Max "Sex and the City", and its premiere came before the company's share price fell on Friday.

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Author: Isabella Grulon Paz

This article contains spoilers for the premiere of HBO Max.

Peloton, a high-end fitness equipment manufacturer, is obviously as surprised as you are that it appeared in "And Just Like That", a new HBO Max limited series that tells the story of "Sex and the City".

At the end of the first episode, Kylie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) intermittently loves Mr. Big (Chris North) rides on his Peloton stationary bike and begins Took his 1000th ride. Soon after he jumped off the bicycle, he suffered a heart attack and died.

After the shocking ending, we can't help but wonder: Do companies generally know nothing about how their products will be used in movies or TV shows, as reportedly is Peloton? What is a typical product placement agreement? If a company is particularly dissatisfied with the way its products are described, does it have any legal recourse?

According to intellectual property and entertainment attorney Nancy C. Prager, there are two types of product placement agreements: one is for companies to pay to appear in shows or movies, and the other is for production companies to purchase trademarked products for use on screens. .

Peloton refused to publicly state whether it has participated in any formal product placement agreements, but if a production company wants to use trademarked products, Ms. Prager said it must obtain special permission to display products and brand logos. (In this episode, the Peloton logo is clearly visible on Mr. Big’s bike, and the coach video is very similar to the real Peloton course.)

Ms. Prager explained that under the trademark law, a principle called fair use of the main name allows the production company to use the trademark as long as the product is used in the same way as the original trademark.

"However, when you use a protected trademark in a way that devalues ​​the trademark or brand, named fair use does not apply," Ms. Prager said. She added that HBO "sullied Peloton's goodwill towards consumers" and pointed out that Peloton's products are designed to make their customers stronger and healthier.

"The plunge in stock prices can prove this taint," she added, referring to the 11% drop in Peloton's stock price overnight after the episode aired. The value of the stock continued to fall on Friday.

In Ms. Prager's view, this means that Peloton can reasonably consider litigation, especially if HBO does not disclose the storyline involving the product.

"Peloton was a mistake not fully understanding the script," said Stacey Jones, CEO and founder of Hollywood Brands, a Los Angeles marketing and brand agency company.

According to BuzzFeed News, Peloton does not know how the bike or its coach Jess King will appear on the show. Ms. Prager and Ms. Jones agreed that concealing these details would leave HBO in a vague legal realm.

"The production staff forgot that product placement should be mutually beneficial, and they did not consider the damage it would cause to the brand," Ms. Jones said.

“Think of product placement as another form of advertising,” said David Schwedel, a marketing professor at the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University, on Friday.

He said that in recent years, companies have sought more product placement agreements than ever before. The increase in the use of streaming media platforms means that audiences are seeing fewer and fewer advertisements, which has prompted companies to use more product placement deals to promote themselves.

"If I can no longer reach my customer base through traditional TV advertising, I will use the product in the show itself," said Professor Schweidel. "Then they can't avoid it."

He estimates that by 2021, the value of product display advertising will exceed $20 billion.

Ms. Jones said that for production companies, these arrangements can be mutually beneficial, because featuring well-known brands can make the show more realistic.

In this particular situation, joining Peloton is an integral part of advancing the storyline. "Peloton provided a solution to their problem," she said.

Usually, when a company is so dissatisfied with the way its products are described that it has the idea of ​​filing a lawsuit, “the TV show claims that this is an imitation, and the audience clearly knows it is fictitious,” Beth L. Fossen, assistant professor at Indiana University Marketing staff at Kelly School of Business said Friday.

She said that this method is usually applied to programs such as "Saturday Night Live".

But given that Peloton was the subject of unfavorable headlines this year about the death of a child in an accident involving one of his treadmills, the storyline may be "too close to home", so this argument will not work, Professor Schweider Say.

At least for now, Peloton doesn't seem to be interested in filing a lawsuit. In a statement on Saturday, Dr. Susanna Steinbaum, a cardiologist at the Peloton Health Advisory Committee, noted, "Mr. Bigger lives a lifestyle that many people call luxury-including cocktails, cigars and big Steak-and at serious risk because he had a heart attack in season 6."

Dr. Steinbaum said that Mr. Bige’s lifestyle choices may be related to his family history of heart disease and most likely the cause of his death.

In fact, she speculated that “riding his Peloton bike might even help delay his heart event.”

On Sunday, Peloton further stated that it will try to make lemonade and create a mock advertisement to celebrate the health benefits of fitness equipment. In the 38-second clip, voiced by actor Ryan Reynolds, Mr. North himself flirted with the real-life Peloton coach Jess King, who is also restarting.

In the romantic background of the Christmas fireplace and Beethoven's Sonata in C-sharp minor, Mr. North raised his eyebrows, and seemed to glance at the bedroom, and asked: "Should we take another ride? Life is too short and we have to do it." "

Different camera angles showed that the ride he was referring to was carried out on two previously invisible Peloton machines in the room.

Peloton spokesperson Jessica Kleiman (Jessica Kleiman) said in an email on Sunday evening that the clip was filmed in New York City on Saturday and edited overnight, and that the TV show or HBO did not participate. The company produced the video in collaboration with Mr. Reynolds and his marketing company Maximum Effort.

Mr. Reynolds ended the ad with a voiceover of the rhythm and speed of the TV warning disclaimer: "Just like that, remind the world that regular cycling can stimulate and improve your heart, lungs and blood circulation, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Risk of disease. Cycling can strengthen the heart muscle, lower the resting pulse and lower blood lipid levels. He is alive."