In an interview with 'Today', the 'Deadpool' actor explains why he recruited Monica Ruiz for his Aviation Gin promo in the midst of backlash surrounding 'The Gift That Gives Back' commercial.
- Dec 13, 2019
AceShowbiz - Ryan Reynolds turned his idea to spoof the widely-panned Peloton exercise bike commercial into a new alcohol advertisement in just 36 hours.
The "Deadpool" star was fascinated by the backlash sparked by the now-viral promo, titled "The Gift That Gives Back", in which Monica Ruiz plays a woman whose husband presents her with the fitness equipment for Christmas.
He decided to recruit the same actress for a Peloton parody, called, "The Gift That Doesn't Give Back", this time pushing his Aviation Gin booze brand as Ruiz drowned her sorrows at a bar with friends, and Reynolds admits the funny ad was turned around in record time - even though his leading lady initially rejected the gig several times.
"I said, 'Can we just send her a year's supply of gin? She doesn't have to film herself!' and that sort of evolved from there," he shared on U.S. breakfast show "Today".
"We love acknowledging and playing with the cultural landscape... Everything is so divisive these days - one camp here, one camp there. We had this thought that we could do this ad without contributing to this divide, without really vilifying anybody, just sort of commenting on this person and the actress and the ad all at once, so for us it seemed like a no-brainer."
"It was a lot of fun to do, and it was a rush! We did this thing in 36 hours."
Reynolds sympathised with Ruiz over the negative reactions to the commercial, because The "Green Lantern" star has experienced similar situations in the past: "I can relate to that as an actor," he said. "You do something that doesn't work, and suddenly you feel like the only person on earth, and it's very alienating."
Ruiz was only introduced to Reynolds in person on Thursday, December 12, when they were both guests on New York City show "Today", and the Peloton actress confessed she was in awe at her newfound fame.
"I'm living in an alternate universe now," she remarked. "This is so weird!"
