My purpose for writing today relates the similarities between the first advertising (print) compared to advertising today. I will argue that old print advertising for medicines, which claimed to cure people’s health problems, is very similar to athletic accessories advertising today. At the start of advertising, companies would advertise certain medicines, which could have been merely a water based placebo. Today, companies such as Power Balance and Phiten are claiming their wrist bands and necklaces will give people more energy, increase flexibility, and strength.
Phiten is a company that started to be very popular in professional baseball a couple years ago. Since major leaguers started wearing these necklaces and were seen on TV and in the media, then other players and younger kids started purchasing these necklaces, thinking that they would perform better on the baseball field. There is no proof that these work and it seems hard to believe that metals in a necklace can change a person’s health, enabling them to perform better athletically. Also, Power Balance is an new company that started last year. It became popular in the NBA after Shaq started wearing Power Balance bands in NBA games and he was also the spokesperson during commercials and other advertising videos. More NBA players started to wear these bands, and now it has become the new “fad.” So many kids just have to have these accessories because they think they will perform better. However, there is a lot of advertising for products, such as Phiten and Power Balance, that offer no proof that these products really work. This is almost exactly the same as the first print advertising.
False advertising . . . I think so . . . what do you think?
No comments:
Post a Comment