#3 Advertising Ethics

 Are Energy Drinks as Healthy as They Say They Are?

        When you think about energy drinks, do you think about them being healthy or do you think about drinking them just for the boost of energy? Some companies try to target the idea of giving you healthy energy while others just try to give you energy without giving you the nutritional facts.  

        The first energy drink in America was released in 1985 and ever since energy drinks have changed tremendously. This brand of this drink was Jolt Cola and it was pretty much just a carbonated soda. The intended use was for students and professionals to drink when stressed. 

        Since then there have been billions of new energy drinks have hit the market. Here recently energy drinks have come increasingly more popular for many reasons but a big age group that is targeted is teenage to college-aged people. This group specifically because of late nights staying up to study or do homework and athletes who desire that extra boost of energy before working out. Today, some of the more popular energy drinks are Bang, Celcius, and Nos. Each has its own take on the way these caffeinated energy drinks should be advertised. 

        

        Bang started out just supplying your average energy drinks with many different flavors. When you first get onto Bang's website, you will see their newer and healthier option with "Boost Your Energy, Metabolism, and Immune System" in the title. They teeter on the healthy side of energy drinks coming in at 300mg of caffeine per can. This amount of caffeine is pretty high and could people at risk if they have any heart problems. They do not contain sugar, no artificial color or flavor, and only 6 calories. Here recently they have started putting out a new drink called the meltdown which is supposed to be drunk along with working out. This specific drink contains 350mg of caffeine with 8 calories, 2 grams of carbs, and 4 electrolytes. They also have protein bars, dietary supplements, and apparel. Overall, Bangs are not the worst for you but they probably aren't your healthiest option either. Just in the last couple of months, Bang has started to change its advertisement from giving you energy to a fitness energy drink. In doing this they are hoping to attract more people by convincing customers that the drinks you are putting in their bodies are good for you. 

        Celcius is usually the first energy drink that comes to mind when someone mentions wanting a healthy energy drink. This company does a great job of displaying its product to its customers. When you open their website they display a slideshow of the new and popular flavors along with athletes promoting the companies products. I wouldn't ever say that energy drinks are good for you but Celcius does a great job of convincing you that they are. Their slogan is "Live Fit" and their whole idea around these popular drinks is to accelerate metabolism and burn body fat while containing only 10 calories and 200mg of caffeine. They also have written on the can that each can has 7 essential vitamins in them. I do find it interesting that the amount of caffeine is not found anywhere on the can even though it is one of the better options. Celcius also offers Celcius Heat, Celcius packets for on the go, Celcius Stevia, and Celcius BCAAs. The website offers a link to a study they did that proves that Celcius drinks burn body fat while you work out. 

        The last energy drink is NOS. The first thing that sticks out when you look at this brand's website is that they don't like to share their nutrition facts. When you open the website you see race care drivers with the slogan "High-Performance Energy Drink". While this product only contains 200mg of caffeine, it also contains 27 grams of sugar, 27 grams of carbs, and 100 calories. This energy drink definitely isn't your healthiest option. This particular energy drink is advertised specifically to race car drivers. When you click on the "sports" tab of their website, it is strictly about their team of race car drivers. 

        Any way you look at it, are any kind of energy drinks actually healthy for you? Probably not. Are some more healthy than others? More than likely. But, the advertising of the companies sure does make you feel better about what you are putting in your body either way.