How Ryan Reynolds Pulled Off Aviation Gin's Peloton Parody, Capping His Year of Genius Ads

It began as a text from Ryan Reynolds. Just 75 hours later, it was a published ad, vaulting toward 10 million views. Aviation Gin's satirical take on a viral Peloton ad left the countless other parodies looking half-assed and ham-handed, and despite its late arrival on the advertising calendar, it earned the No. 4 spot on Adweek's list of the Best Ads of 2019. From its rapid turnaround to its effortlessly sly humor, the spot encapsulates much of what made Reynolds and George Dewey, his partner at Maximum Effort Productions, two of the year's top advertising masterminds. Throughout 2019, they've been putting on a masterclass for building a brand—Aviation, which Reynolds owns—and crafting the next evolution of creative advertising. Speaking to Adweek, Reynolds and Dewey say their attention-grabbing work comes down to a combination of speed, flexibility, trust and (as the name Maximum Effort implies) the willingness to put in however much work is necessary to bring an idea to life. "We work with such a small group of people," Reynolds says, "the escalation from idea to execution is pretty startling and pretty quick." [kickout id="4"] Beginning with a text exchange between Reynolds and Dewey, as almost all Aviation ad concepts do, the Peloton Wife parody idea was born on a Tuesday as the fitness brand's holiday ad went unintentionally viral. By Friday, they had tracked down the Peloton ad's star, actress Monica Ruiz. It wasn't a given that she'd be interested in participating, given that a parody of her own paying client work could have repercussions for her career, or at the very least emphasize her role in an ad many critics were describing as having sexist undertones: a husband buying his wife unsolicited exercise equipment and then seemingly monitoring her progress. Sensitive to that issue from Day 1, Reynolds personally called Ruiz three times over the lifecycle of the concept and production—including once after shooting wrapped to give her one last chance to back out if she had concerns. "Most of it was just to make sure that she felt good about everything and to ensure that she felt like she had some sort of authorship in this reaction," Reynolds says. "We certainly didn't want to do anything that would even remotely exacerbate the problem. There were just a lot of gut checks from me to her. I know that, early on in my career, I certainly appreciated that when I worked with directors or producers or creators that would check in with me when it was going to be sort of something that reached a larger audience." How it all came together Once Ruiz was on board, everything went into motion dizzyingly fast. The cast, location and crew were booked by Thursday, and shooting began Friday morning at the bar Sam First near Los Angeles International Airport. As soon as shooting wrapped at noon, editing began, with Reynolds remaining involved throughout via calls, file transfers and Facetime sessions. By 5 p.m. PST, the video and audio were locked in. (The soundtrack, in case you're curious, is the upbeat cover of "Jingle Bells" by Roger Rivas and The Brothers of Reggae.) The clock was ticking for Reynolds, who was preparing to board a flight to Brazil for a press tour and was eager to get the finished product posted to his social channels before losing cell service. "I hit Send on my phone right as I was taking off for Brazil," Reynolds says. "So I was just hoping and praying it would be able to go out and there wouldn't be some interruption in the signal." [kickout id="1"] Luckily, all the hustle and tight schedules were worth it. The response to the ad, which subtly expands on the Peloton spot's story rather than directly parodying it, was immediate and rapturous. Views roared in by the millions, and it sparked widespread acclaim from Aviation fans, newcomers to the brand and ad industry luminaries alike. [kickout id="2"] Despite the repeated success of Aviation's viral marketing this year, Reynolds says he still never banks on a spot doing well until he's seen the reaction once it's live. "I was surprised. I'm always surprised when something works, to be honest," he says. "You never really know, you know? The thing we love the most about this job is the creative aspect, just having the opportunity to play with and acknowledge the cultural landscape in that way. That's been the thing I love most." Reynolds consistently and effusively credits his Maximum Effort partner, Dewey, who serves as president of the marketing content studio. Their partnership dates back to 2016's Deadpool, a relatively low-budget Hollywood venture whose success was due largely to the creative marketing Reynolds and Dewey created together. Dewey, however, points the credit back to Reynolds. Despite the actor's extensive family and film commitments—this year he starred in both Pokémon Detective Pikachu and the Michael Bay-directed Netflix film 6 Underground, filmed multiple 2020 features, and had a third daughter with wife Blake Lively—he consistently makes time to be central to ads for Aviation and other brands promoted by Maximum Effort. "His choice of the term Maximum Effort for the company name is indicative both of his philosophy and him as a person," Dewey says. "Maximum Effort to us means not just giving maximum effort—it's maximum effort within the context of things. So many things these days, it feels like, are trying to separate us as a society. I'm lucky enough to work with someone who really does put maximum effort, 110% effort, into trying to find ways to bring people together. It's where his heart is and where he's put a stake in the ground as a human being. Everyone thinks Maximum Effort is Deadpool's catchphrase, which of course it is, but it's really the philosophy of the man." [kickout id="5"] Their work together has led to unprecedented growth for Aviation, which Reynolds says has become the fastest growing gin in the world. While the Davos Brands-owned company hasn't released specific sales figures, Reynolds says it has recently made concerted efforts to ramp up its distribution to keep pace with demand. "The growth has been pretty explosive. The biggest challenge we've created for ourselves—which I guess you'd say is an 'uptown problem,' but it's a problem nonetheless—is creating enough supply to meet demand," he said. "This is a position I don't think anybody, including my partners at Aviation, imagined when we entered into this partnership. That's been the biggest challenge, just keeping enough of it on the shelves." Meanwhile, Maximum Effort has been expanding the portfolio of brands and intellectual properties it works with, often through Reynolds' Hollywood relationships. That included several hilarious promotions for Detective Pikachu and a three-in-one ad in which Reynolds plugged Samsung TVs, his new Netflix movie and Aviation Gin. [kickout id="3"] The studio will also be working on brand building for prepaid carrier Mint Mobile, in which Reynolds also now has an ownership stake. In 2020, Reynolds hopes to bring Maximum Effort ad concepts to brands outside his own orbit. "I do hope that, if we find the right fit, there's some work we've created and written that I think would be an amazing fit for companies that have nothing to do with us," Reynolds says. "These spots wouldn't necessarily work for Aviation Gin or Mint Mobile. They're just creative itches we want to scratch at some point. I'd certainly be open to working with other companies strictly as a marketing company and not as any kind of ambassadorship or ownership stake—just purely to execute creative." Here's a look back at some of the popular marketing Reynolds, Dewey and their small group of collaborators put together in 2019: [kickout id="6"] [kickout id="7"] [kickout id="8"]

Ryan Reynolds

How Ryan Reynolds Pulled Off Aviation Gin's Peloton Parody, Capping His Year of Genius Ads

His Maximum Effort studio put on a masterclass in 2019

David Griner

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