There's a commercial making the rounds right now from Coca-Cola that starts off with a group of young boys kicking a football around before accidentally letting it roll out of their sight. It then cuts to the same group running through a number of different neighborhoods around the world (
the children posses the ability to teleport, as does the ball, presumably) while chasing the ball, stopping every now and then to sip an ice cold and obviously very refreshing bottle of Coke before carrying on. The company is a sponsor of this year's World Cup tournament, which explains the football bit and heavy rotation on all 7,000 useless channels, but I simply fail to see the connection. Call me practical and old fashioned, but it's a horrible commercial that shouldn't make anyone want to purchase a Coke, no matter how much they like football. Will I instantly attain the carefree attitude of a fourteen year old boy chasing a football through what looks to be Turkey, Japan, and somewhere in Europe before ending in Brazil simply because I took a big swig of carbonated water and sugar? I'm well aware that it's more of a subconscious approach on their part, but I'd like to think that I'm not that dumb, and that I know drinking a Coke will do nothing more than satisfy my sweet tooth and probably give me a bit of gas. Coca-Cola and all their marketing might have come up short on me, I'm afraid, but I got to thinking and it seems that I'm likely an easier target when it comes to our chosen sport. I don't think I'm alone, though.
Brosnan and Hill celebrate a successful Fort William World Cup by drinking a few ice cold and amazingly refreshing Monsters. At least we're a long way off from those horribly scripted podium speeches that you see in Supercross.
There's a pretty good chance that you might follow the competitive side of our sport, even if it's only by glancing at the results from the most recent World Cup or skimming through a widescreen photo essay of the race here on Pinkbike. Or maybe you'd rather watch Semenuk, Messere and Sam Pilgrim get judged as they make their way down a course filled with super booters and step downs. It's also likely that the majority of us would rather be riding our own bikes than watching someone else ride theirs, no matter how good they are, but isn't there just something awesome about watching the best in the world go to work that gets you fired up? I know that it has that exact effect on me, and I'm usually itching to get out as soon as I'm done watching the live race coverage or replay. I've also started to wonder how watching our favourite riders - heroes to some, even - might come into play when it's time to throw down some cash on a new bike or piece of gear. Does Steve Smith winning on a Wilson leave you thinking that it's the bike for you? Are you more likely to dream about a new Gambler after watching Brendan Fairclough put his own into impossible positions on the trail? Semenuk's antics got you craving your own Ticket S?
Devinci, Scott, Trek and every other company who have invested in racing, slopestyle, or nearly any sort of high-level sponsorship all hope that you'll be influenced by the athletes on their bikes, by the clothing that they're wearing, and even by whatever fizzy pop logo they have on their helmet. And while many like to think that we're immune to such tactics, even the most steely of us are being drawn in ever so slightly by the marketing tractor pull tugging us towards whatever's new for this year. After all, it costs big bucks to sponsor a top racer or freerider, and even the dimmest of lightbulbs out there knows that sponsors expect a return on their investment. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, mind you, because that's how the world goes 'round, bills get paid, and things get done, but it's also a fact that should be stored away until the moment you find yourself lusting after the latest and greatest bit of kit.
I definitely look at the pros and the collective use of certain products and how they perform or how they are trusted or how certain riders styles and bikes might suit myself or what I am after. But as for the marketing side of it I don't really care. I will research a product before I buy it and I know that most riders are paid to market their gear. I think pros can be good to see how parts perform and how they suit certain riders or what riders choose specific parts in their contracts but given kit is such a small factor at the top with everyone on top kit you cant choose one part based on a riders results.
Then we got the other side of the coin I've got a friend who's a bit shortminded and when we're ordering stuff he goes "yo man buy this tires because that's what brandon beggin/Stevie churchill are running right now"
I agree to a certain degree but Pro's get paid to advertise crap as well. Granted it may not do you're rep much good but you gotta feed the kids and pay the bills. You are probably just as well off looking at weekend racers that don't get kit thrown at them to see what lasts and what doesn't. But here's the kicker "They look at what the Pro's are using just as much"
This is a Carousel / MerryGoRound that you can't get off.
if you're gonna drink Monster or other 'energy' drinks stick to the low calories or sugar free version, the artificial sweeteners are not "healthy" but neither is a massive load of fructose sugar
still get hyped on the caffeine and taurine boost but not the sugar high / crash and huge insulin dump your body goes through = much less drama for your body
true that....
Disclaimer: peaty is not alone, it just bothers me more with him.
I don't drink energy drinks, never have. But I don't attack the companies for peoples decisions. No one is forcing you to drink them.
"but we must just have different ethics about promoting poison to children." Painting yourself as taking the highroad is easy. Try discussing a topic just by the facts and be a bit less strident.
mnorris122 (1 hours ago)
My cousin is a doctor, and he used to be the hydration specialist for a Redbull sponsored auto racing team. His job was to create fluids that would allow the drivers to perform their best throughout a long, hot race, and drinks for recovery after. No one on the team was ever allowed to have a single sip of Redbull, ever, it's too bad for you. This team had a doctor imposed ban on drinking their own sponsor's products.
:End quote.
Must be okay for kids if atheletes are banned from it, right?
The attitude that you have here is that of a politician. Take it however you please from there.
mtbrider71- You were acting just like an American politician. Yeah, it's banned in every other country, but the manufacturer pays a lot of taxes, so let's call this freedom of choice. I agree with you to a certain extent that people should decide what's being put into their bodies, however it's not ok for companies to advertise that there product is healthy, when it's not. People buy into it, and we pay for it as a society. It's not ok to put money before health. We shouldn't have to test everything we eat before we eat it, because our government is so money hungry that they would rather make a lot of money than have a healthy country.
Monster though tastes sooooooo much worse that even ideology can't get me to drink it. I get it free at work and still don't drink it.
p.s. I don't drink usually Monster and very seldom drink Redbull (let's say once every 5/6 months), but when I do, I really love them both. And it has nothing to do with their clothing.
People should start realizing that everything that is chemically synthesized isn't bad, and that everything that is "natural" isn't necessarily good for you.
Kudos to Minnaar
I'm Alex and I'm a monsterholic, I've been clean for 5 weeks and I'm ok.
This is the sort of awesomely simple logic I like. Minnaar just took an interstellar flight in my estimations. I'm so insensed by the monster invasion it would actually make me give more weight to his other endorsements because he shows some integrity when stacking the cheques.
P.s. did you have to go to monsters anonymous? did you know theres a monster now called Rehab? If that doesn't tell you everything you need to know.. lol. They do like to rub it people's faces for sure.
Question: what's a bigger 'waste' of money? A set of enve's? Or a can of monster?
I've got no problem with attractive women selling stuff, but there was something about their role in this event that was really wrong given the impressionable audience.
It seems to be a nasty douche bag hair metal brand for people who are sad about the Motley Crue splitting up.
Everybody wins.
(Except for maybe mr Red Bull, but he is an %@#%#$^ anyway.)
Once a day, in the morning, so I can wake up and NOT be a dick.
And yes , can usually shit within 10 minutes of starting one, which takes me an hr to finish.Thats fine by me.
I got it covered, chief. When catch any kind of cancer, I'll be sure to fire off a letter to Monster and thank them for all the years of life they made better for me, because I wasn't pissed off and grumpy for the first half of the day.
FYI - THIS is the second half
P.s. I'm really glad you said pick your 'poison', so we cleared it up for mtnrider.
I wouldn't buy a beer however, only cause Peaty is drinking it. I have my personal favourites and I'll stick to them, thanks.
As for the equipment, bikes and components. It's stupid to ride what pros are riding, because they are being paid to ride these things. The opinion of the community regarding some product is what you should be considering. We all know Pike is good fork, Hope make some great brakes, Zee is great derailleur, no matter who is riding them on the circuit.
The energy drink thing is tangential and has a different psychology - like a shoe sponsor for a surfer. Kelly Slater wears DC shoes, so I should too? The product has nothing to do with why you like the athlete. (Note: Slates dropped Quicksilver, so he no longer wears DC shoes, I assume).
To a degree, the only way to subvert this to is to buy second hand goods that have proven records of being great products. Let the other early adopters waste their money on the newest, shiniest gear with its premium prices.
On the other hand though, when I'm looking for a new dh rear tire or 150mm fork, I just google "best mtb whatever" and then see if it makes sense for me. We live in an information era where it's usually super easy to get the information you need to do a sound choice, if this is what you want, so there isnt much excuse to fall for marketing traps anymore as far as I am concerned. If you understand the mechanic behind them, it's often easy to spot and avoid falling for it.
As for pushing it towards kids - fundamentally wrong. Your not allowed to associate alcohol with having fun, cars driving fast, cigs with anything, or unhealthy fast food items to kids (hence pictures of happy meals are carrot sticks and juice) but for some reason monster is ÂŁ2 for 2 in my local COOP and every 'extreme' sports star has redbull written across the front of their house and cans of monster firing out of the back of their trucks at crows of adoring youngsters. Monster even rock up at little village skate parks here in the uk in some stupid truck giving out free drinks.
What I will commend however, is just how much Redbull have done for 'our' sports. They put on truly awesome events that simply wouldn't be possible without their money, it's just a shame that they can't push a genuinely good-for-you multivit drink or something similar under the same branding (keeping the cool factor) instead of firing these sugar/caffeine grenades at perfectly energetic kids who are at a crucial time in terms of development and growth.
Peace
Nowadays you can't watch a WC event without the riders wearing some stupid flat billed hat with one of the big three on it or even more cringe worthy, quasi-casually sipping a can of that shit while being interviewed.
As for the question, I heard that MXer Jeffrey Herlings was paid 15k for wearing a RB hat for a few minutes at one (!) event. I'd think RB would only invest amounts like these if they are sure it'll have effect on sales.
These cans usually have a small 'W' or 'TW' on the bottom of the can; I've had a few friends sponsored by one of the big three companies for various sports who have refrigerators full of both the water cans and the product cans -- they'll hand a friend or visitor to the shop/house/gear trailer/pit a can of product, while snagging a water. It's insane to watch, and even crazier that people buy into it.
Notwithstanding, a few of the young pros actually do actively use and promote the product, but usually only until they burn something out or have adrenal gland issues, at which point they generally switch to water.
We live in a crazy f*ckin' world, but those energy drink paychecks keep the lights on.
They did leave open the big question though - which interest prevails: ethics (not promoting unhealthy stuff to a young and vulnerable audience) or money.
I said the same thing to myself about Muddy Mary's. "If they are good enough for Danny Hart to race, they are good enough for me". Boy was I wrong. Those tires are awful in any conditions.
As for energy drinks - that's just a dumb choice that has nothing to do with riding, unless you are naive enough to think the pros are actually drinking that shit before, during or after a ride.
Then i saw a video of Chris Akrigg riding them, and to be honest, that was the best review I´ve ever "read", cause´ if they can hold up to his riding, I think they do for me too :-)
It's all very clever marketing, and we all suffer from it at some point through the media and 'advertising'.
But having said that, if you buy stuff that makes you happy (me) then carry on, the world could do with a bit more happy! As for being influenced by pro's, i'd say only as much as seeing what goggles fit which helmets, or what some of the freeriders are wearing.
Mostly i spend money on keeping my bikes running, and that keeps me happy.
Why is the biggest free ride comp funded by red syrup in a blue and silver can? It's like having silly string sponsor a boat race.
And you Canadians are way off with the bad beer assumption. There is some amazing beer brewed in the United States. Not the stuff you see advertised on T.V., that's for sure. Not even sure how it's considered beer really.
(In moderation obviously)
Only thing i can think of that i bought based on racers were some mavic crossmax enduro wheels . ( if there tough enough for the racers they will last well for me) And i regret that so lessoned learned.
Oh, and I drink Red Rain when it comes to energy drinks... makes Monster seem like a Puppy!
Pros have a massive influence on the younger generation.
On top of that you can just see it by talking to people or reading the comment sections here. People constantly compare bikes by saying "what has it won", as in the results of pro riders riding a certain bike.
So maybe it's less about the pros and more about supporting local companies like Rocky and Race Face?
www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2013/03/refreshing-orange-lemonade-ditch-that-overpriced-sport-drink.html
Yeah, i'm so glad about that... we're at "You're gonna sing bro?" "...No" ... love it!
I drink redbull for other reasons too (jagermeister I hate you!)
As for Coke OMFG - every ad they have ever done has turned me off more and more and more, Coke - how the FCUK did that ever take off, its one .. THE most disgusting things on the damn planet, nearly as bad as they cheesy ass adverts.
Just to prove my wonderful naivety - i only found all this action sport stuff recently and didn't even know that Red Bull and Monster etc were DRINKS, i just thought they were something to do with events management or a club/organization (as they were plastered everywhere) like UCI etc - i have since tried a red bull and as far as i care they can join coke in the "no one should have to ever suffer this crap" department - which is a shame as i do want to support the work they do, just not through that crap - films and stuff maybe, not drinks!
TL;DR
Sorry, but I'm not wasting my time reading that huge wall of text, and I don't know why this is even here?
Why do you ask? Because I wasn't interested in reading a whiny wall of text post?
Did you really count the amount of books you have?