During the holiday season, the high-end exercise company Peloton released an ad with a simple enough concept: Man buys his wife a Peloton. She works out all year and loves it. Thanks husband the next Christmas for the wonderful gift. And yet. The internet exploded with controversy over the spot.

When we watched it, we sensed an overreliance on audience personas. Audience personas are a valuable marketing tool that help brands focus their content and speak to the right people. Unfortunately, some brands forget that these personas are only a framework, not real people.