Sunday, February 7, 2016

Week 2 EOC: Red Bull Ad

Red Bull energy drink company was founded in 1987 out of Austria. Since, the company has grown to be the best selling and most drank energy drink in the world. The Red Bull gives you wings advertisement began in 2000, but wasn’t brought to America until 2002. Red Bull is now a leading sponsor in not only sports, but music and entertainment as well. With Red Bull sponsoring most of today’s stars, it’s obvious they have a strong target for the millennials and college students.

In 2013 a man named Benjamin Careathers teamed up with many other consumers of the energy drink to file a law suit against Red Bull. The claim was Red Bull’s marketing and advertising had been misleading to the public. The fact they claimed the energy drink “gives you wings” was obviously not true and just puffery, but that and Red Bull had no scientific facts to back up claims for improved performance, concentration and reaction speed. Eventually Red Bull settled for $13 million in favor of the consumers. A $10 cash or $15 in Red Bull products was given to anyone who had purchased or drank Red Bull since 2002.


If Red Bull never claimed these improvements then I believe the case to be morally wrong. Red Bull is obviously not healthy for anyone. The claim it gives you wings is nothing more than puffery. I believe these consumers were just after a company because of its wealth and maybe the fact of it being unhealthy. If Red Bull had made these claims then they were in the wrong selling their beverage on false claims. 

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