Your Hangup, Not Mine

Recently I came across a commercial for 5 Hour Energy Drinks. Now, normally I don't mind these products. Some people need little extra boosts from time to time, especially after particularly hard days. It's no surprise that the supply is merely trying to fit the demand. However, this commercial was different from the others I had seen. While most of the commercials for energy drinks either talk about getting rid of a tired feeling late in the work day or simply making you feel invigorated, this commercial was targeting people who were just waking up and a cup of coffee wasn't doing it for them anymore.

WHAT?!

I'm sorry, but what planet have I landed on where this is a good marketing strategy? Wait until the caffeine isn't working any more and then get them hooked on something else? Since when did playing off of a dependency become a standard practice in marketing? How did I miss this?

I hate to burst your bubble, but I don't think the best way to sell your product is to model your advertising campaign off of the average drug dealer. That's exactly what these people are doing, using this group's dependency on artificial energy boosting drinks to wake them up in the morning combined with their tolerance for caffeine rising through the roof due to them drinking way too much coffee.

In fact, isn't caffeine, and these other energy additives, drugs in and of themselves? Now that I think about it, I think maybe these guys ARE drug dealers! They found a way off the street by pushing a new product, legalized energy supplements. In a similar fashion to weed and crack, these drugs get stronger and stronger year after year. And people continue to buy them thinking it is perfectly safe.

News Flash: energy supplements are a TEMPORARY solution. They are meant to be used in an EMERGENCY. Like if your boss has just given you 24 hours to complete a project or you're fired and you were just about to go home and sleep. Taking these energy drinks constantly is telling your body something you really shouldn't be, "It's okay to not produce any more energy, I've got it covered." Do you really want to be telling your body this? That's what you do every time you take an energy supplement, especially just after waking up.

The entire point of sleeping is to give you enough energy to get through the day. Sure, on occasion you don't sleep long enough and need a bit more to top off the meter, but you don't do it with a quick fix. Eat a banana or something! Various natural foods will grant you the energy your need. It won't be all at once, but it will be a whole lot more and will last a whole lot longer. Also, not only will you be telling your body to make the energy itself using these delicious nutrients, but you are also saving hundreds of dollars you would normally be spending on coffee and energy drinks.

To sum it all up, stop drinking things to add a quick energy buzz. Stop it RIGHT NOW! You are only hurting yourself. Go eat some fruit and get that energy naturally for a lot less than what these 5 Hour Energy guys or the "barista" at Star Bucks would charge you for your drug habit. And pick a week where you're not gonna be very busy, because you ARE going to have withdrawal symptoms.

Pull yourselves together, people!