The Beverage Industry and You
Our surroundings shape us in many ways. Nobody knows this better than big industries with deep pockets for marketing.
Think about when you are watching television or driving to work, when you’re at the grocery store or walking around your neighborhood. How many advertisements for sugar-sweetened beverages do you see on a given day? It’s very likely that your community, from the corner store to the park bench across the street, is branded with advertising that encourages you to drink sugar-sweetened beverages. Everywhere you turn, sodas, sport drinks, sweetened tea, coffee and energy drinks are being marketed to you and your community, with little information provided about the health effects that can occur from consuming them.
If your neighborhood is blanketed in advertising for a product, the product becomes a dominant and influential part of your surroundings. Because of this, many people probably don’t think twice about drinking sugar-sweetened beverages. And that’s exactly the point of well-placed, well-focused advertising. But here’s something to think about: You are smarter than the biggest marketing firms. Don’t buy the “hype”. Don’t buy into million-dollar ad campaigns. Don’t buy sugar-sweetened beverages.
A note on advertising
Advertising is meant to persuade you to buy a product. It’s as simple as that. Negative qualities of a product do not make for good advertising, which is why you rarely see or hear mention of a product’s short comings. After all, if a company wants to sell its product—and most companies want to sell A LOT of product—the advertising is going to focus on, and embellish upon, only what the advertisers want you to see. Over time, this type of one-sided representation casts a shadow over the facts, making it difficult to separate the inflated image of a product from its truer origins.
It is important to note that advertising is not a bad thing. In fact, it is necessary for business. However, when marketing actively targets specific demographics, groups or communities, and attempts to sidestep honest representation of a product to increase sales, consumers have a right to know.
Be educated. Be vigilant. And always be questioning the products and advertising you support with your hard-earned money.
By changing what you drink and avoiding sugar-sweetened beverages, you’ll send a clear message to the beverage industry. Do something for your health and the health of your family today: Stop or dramatically decrease the amount of sugar-sweetened beverages you are consuming.