Truth: Athletes and Soft Drinks

The first installment in the Truth series is so obvious it almost goes without saying but since it continues I'll mention it anyway. High level professional athletes do not drink pop or eat fast food on a regular basis. This ad is particularly cute because it is, to an extent, downplay itself:



The reality is that if you drink alot of pop, including Sprite, or eat alot of fast food you are far more likely to grow up to be diabetic than you are to grow up to be in the NBA or the NFL.

Why Softdrinks Are Dangerous to Your Health

Effects of Soft Drink Consumption on Nutrition and Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Soft Drinks, Hard Facts

Soft Drinks: America's Other Drinking Problem

The Health Effects of Drinking Soda - Quotes From the Experts

There was a bit of controversy recently when I suggested that there was nothing wrong with Feist endorsing Ipods and there's not. Feist probably has an iPod (they are pretty good mp3 players), she probably has a Mac and uses iTunes. What is wrong is for athletes to suggest that soda or fast food contribute in any way to being athletic. The athletes and the companies that hire them to do these ads are lying to you and your children.

It is shocking, given the outrage over steroid use, that there is not broader condemnation of athletes pimping products that obviously harm the health of others but that they likely don't use themselves. Again from Advertising Standards Canada

""Fact is, truth is an essential part of any successful ad campaign. Smart advertisers have known this for years. That's why the advertising industry created the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards. For more than 40 years, the Code has set the standards for acceptable advertising in Canada. It helps ensure that the ads you see and hear are truthful, fair and accurate. Check it out for yourself. Because the more you know about advertising, the more you get out of it."

More Truth to come.