The past ten years have had some great advances in how Americans respond to the media. In fact, Americans are now part of an interactive social media culture. There have been some drawbacks to this trend of celebrity availability and competitive media culture. Celebrity endorsements were once a cornerstone for good products. Valuable products often had successful marketing budgets. The celebrities stood behind what they were selling. Unfortunately, the diet and weight loss industry have shattered that trend.
Woman’s Day magazine pioneered the coverage of the downfall of celebrity endorsements. Who could forget campaigns against anti-depressant drugs? Or anti-vaccine cries for help on CNN? What about those that back the use of leeches or vinegar shots to stay thin and youthful? Even worse are the paid product endorsements! How many retired sports stars now pitch erectile dysfunction pills? The list can go on and on.
Sadly, many of the celebrity endorsement deals are unfounded but appear legitimate because of the star power behind them. A good portion of the products, to include advice such as the vinegar shots, go without any sufficient data to prove their claims.
Diet Dangers
Some products and diets are down right dangerous. For example, a vinegar shot diet claims to get rid of “water weight” and help to “detox the body”. These claims are fraught with inconsistencies. Vinegar consumed in a shot or two a day has not been proven to detox the body. The human body is a detox machine, highly complex, but will become sick if abused by diets and fad remedies. Many of these celebrity endorsements lack any type of truth. Taking a shot of vinegar everyday, which is equal to using a few tablespoons on a salad, is not going to reduce water weight. However, replacing fatty dressings, like blue cheese for olive oil and vinegar, will start to show a difference in appearance.
Sadly, another example are paid endorsements for fad diets. One capsule of one of the leading diet programs contain as much caffeine as four cups of coffee. Too much caffeine can increase blood pressure and pulse rate. A couple of the capsules paired with a cup of coffee (or any other caffeine drink) could result in caffeine poisoning and/or heart arrhythmia. Any type of pill claiming quick weight loss is dangerous. These products can even be considered lethal under certain circumstances.
Therefore consider celebrity endorsements as extremely harmful. It doesn’t matter who throws a football around, or sings in a commercial, highly endorsed products deserve more scrutiny than a lone product sitting on a store shelf. Businesses are in business to make money, not necessarily care about one’s health – that is up to the individual consumer. So, consumers beware!
