Fine Print Fuels Concerns

"Is 5-Hour ENERGY Right for You?" Commercial

This commercial is a perfect example of "weasel words", where the manufacturer suggests a positive meaning without making any guarantees. At first the ad seems positive with the large stack of reviews on the product, but who can tell if those are actual reviews or just a stack of paper with a couple reviews printed for the top. The spokesperson said, "Over 73% of doctors would recommend a low calorie energy supplement to their healthy patients who use energy supplements". She didn't say that 73% of doctors would recommend "5-Hour Energy". Also, the suggestions were focused towards "healthy patients who use energy supplements". Who would be considered healthy? A person with a respectable BMI and works out regularly? Not only do they recommend them to healthy people, but to healthy people who already use energy supplements.

It gets really interesting when we look into the fine print. 73% of doctors may recommend a low calorie energy supplement, but only 56% would actually suggest 5-Hour ENERGY. Of primary care physicians, only 47% would suggest 5-Hour ENERGY specifically to healthy patients already using energy supplements. Basically, the ad is stating that for people who already use energy supplements, 3/4 of doctors surveyed said they should use a low calorie supplement rather than high calorie supplements. Focusing on the calories also veers the consumer away from looking at the ridiculous amount of sugar in other energy supplements. Only 1/2 of the doctors would actually suggest 5-Hour ENERGY, meaning the other half of doctors suggested an alternative to 5-Hour ENERGY, and again, that's to people who already use supplements! For me, this ad was a horrible representation of the product, causing consumers to wonder and worry, rather than relax and find reassurance. Consumers prefer statistics to be in the 90th percentile towards A quality, not at a C- or F, like the commercial is implying. Rather than sparking interest in consumers, this ad fueled concerns.