Is it illegal to work out naked? Chris Meloni, of “Law and Order” fame, would say no. At least, that’s according to his recent Peloton ad, which features the 61-year-old actor baring it all in a series of fitness positions.
“Apparently, some people think the way I work out is strange,” Meloni says at the beginning of the commercial, released Thursday and directed by Vincent Peone. The first shot shows Meloni doing bicep curls, shirtless and ripped as ever, before the camera zooms out and reveals a cluster of pixels below the belt, and nothing else on his body except sneakers and socks. “Honestly, I don’t get it.”
Produced by Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort marketing agency and ArtClass, the video then shows Meloni demonstrating all the ways the Peloton app inspires him to work out, from doing naked cardio in his bedroom to naked yoga by his pool, next to a naked statue of Michelangelo’s David. While running naked in a park, Meloni passes a dog that barks at him, with the subtitled line “Wow! He really does have a great app!”
“In the Peloton community, users are represented by two separate, yet equally motivated groups,” narrator Steve Zirnkilton says at the end of the commercial, referencing “Law and Order.” “Those who wear pants … and Christopher Meloni.”
The ad follows a controversial spot last December that featured “Sex and the City” actor Chris Noth, whose character Mr. Big died after a Peloton workout on the “And Just Like That” spin-off series. The commercial was pulled after Noth was accused of sexual assault by two separate women. Also produced by Reynolds’ Maximum Effort, the ad was made quickly in response to his character’s death on the show, which the company was quick to assure viewers had nothing to do with his use of their equipment. That Noth ad was deleted from YouTube and Reynolds’ social platforms.
Watch Meloni’s ad below.
