Dark Horses Delivers UK Peloton Launch

London-based sports creative agency Dark Horses has launched the first UK advertising campaign for US cycling technology brand Peloton.

Peloton turned to Dark Horses to help bring its fully immersive workout experience to viewers across the country in a multi-channel campaign.

The sports marketing agency was appointed by the at-home studio cycling technology brand in the summer to act as its creative agency ahead of the company’s UK launch.

Since launching in the US, Peloton has witnessed an impressive growth over the past four years, transitioning from a kickstarter campaign to a billion-dollar company with member numbers for its live and on-demand spin classes recently hitting one million.

Peloton has become the latest sporting collaboration for Dark Horses, having provided comms campaigns for the likes of Nissan, Just Eat, Under Armour, Wiggle and Southampton Football Club.

The new Peloton advertising campaign reached audiences during half-time of the recent rugby international match between England and Japan, which took place at Twickenham.

Directed by Laurent Chanez and produced by Park Pictures, the advert transports the viewer into a Peloton class led by Leanne Hainsby, one of Peloton’s first British instructors and was designed to portray the immersive high intensity workout experience viewers can take on from their own home.

Alongside the campaign, Peloton is launching six retail showrooms across London, locations such as Westfield, Canary Wharf, Kings Road, Marylebone High Street, Spitalfields and St Pancras. Peloton’s flagship store, Peloton House on Floral Street in Covent Garden is the site of its first UK-based cycling studio.

Commenting on the launch of the partnership with Dark Horses, Kevin Cornils, Peloton’s international MD said: “From the moment we saw them pitch, we knew that Dark Horses were going to go the distance for us. We love that they are a young brand, much like ourselves, and we’re looking forward to working together as we bring our brand to life outside of the US.”

Simon Dent, MD and founder of Dark Horses added: “It has been a great pleasure to work with Peloton on their UK launch. Despite being a young brand, they are already hugely popular with a massive, dedicated following in the US. They are disrupting the fitness category, and continually striving for great creative.

“To launch such a disruptive brand, we knew we had to create something that would stand out in the ad break. We know that once people take a ride on a Peloton bike, they understand it’s worth the investment – that’s why we wanted to try to recreate the intense feeling you get being inside a class.”

Founded in 2016, Dark Horses recently supplemented its senior creative team with the addition of Steve Howell as a creative partner.

Howell joined the sports marketing agency having held the position of executive creative director at advertising agency Droga5 since April 2016, having returned from a four-year stint as creative director at Droga5 New York.

Over the course of his 14-year career, Howell brings with him a wealth of experience and has worked closely with the likes of Under Armour, New York City FC, Kwiff Sports Betting, Amazon and Strongbow. Howell also worked at Saatchi & Saatchi in London, where he was responsible for T-Mobile’s flash mob at Liverpool Street Station.

Commenting on the latest addition, Simon Dent said: “It’s testimony to our success and ambition that we’ve been able to attract someone of Steve’s calibre. We think there is a huge opportunity to raise the creative bar in this sector and hope this signing serves as a statement of our intent.”