Peloton answers 'And Just Like That...' character's death with clever commercial

In a rapidly produced TV commercial, Peloton on Sunday responded to a character's heart attack death after he used the company's stationary bicycle on HBO Max's new "Sex and the City" sequel series, "And Just Like That…."

"And just like that … he's alive," the Peloton Twitter account posted, along with the roughly 40-second spot. Chris Noth, who played longtime character John James "Mr. Big" Preston to a fatal end in the series premiere Thursday, stars in the commercial as an unnamed but similarly wealthy man. Sitting before a crackling fireplace beside a beautiful woman, he toasts, "To new beginnings."

"To new beginnings," replies the woman (Jess King, a Peloton instructor who played one named Allegra on the episode). She adds, "You look great."

"I feel great," Noth's character says before suggesting they "take another ride" since "life's too short not to." The commercial cuts to a pair of Peloton exercise bikes behind them in the well-appointed room. Then actor Ryan Reynolds, whose company Maximum Effort produced the spot, says in voice-over, "And just like that, the world was reminded that regular cycling" has numerous health benefits.

Peloton had been unaware its product would be implicated in Mr. Big's death, said Dara Treseder, Peloton's chief marketing and communications officer. The company "did not have a formal product placement agreement with either the show or HBO," she tweeted Monday. "This was a casting opportunity for one of our instructors, not a brand integration, paid or otherwise. The show procured our equipment on their own, not through us." A representative for HBO Max did not respond to a Newsday request for comment.

"A lot of credit here goes to Dara," Reynolds told the advertising trade magazine Adweek on Monday. "We've been talking to her for the past few weeks generally and when the episode hit, she reached out immediately. Luckily, we have some experience doing this so the rest — over the last 48 hours — is history."

Blake Lively, Reynolds' actor wife, posted part of the commercial on Instagram Stories, where uploads cycle out after 24 hours, adding a note to her husband, "[M]ay you always Dream Big."

Peloton had launched a counteroffensive the day the episode aired. "Mr. Big lived what many would call an extravagant lifestyle — including cocktails, cigars, and big steaks — and was at serious risk as he [had] had a previous cardiac event in ['Sex and the City]) Season 6," cardiologist Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, a member of the company's advisory council, told the Los Angeles Times in a statement Thursday. "These lifestyle choices and perhaps even his family history, which often is a significant factor, were the likely cause of his death. Riding his Peloton bike may have even helped delay his cardiac event."