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Are advertisements too much of a good thing?
I just heard about this commercial which was posted on youtube.com and the NYC Health department website on Monday.
NYC campaign ad

Although this commercial is recent, NYC has gone to great lengths in trying to create a greener and healthier city.
I found a great press release from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on August 31, 2009
Press release

I'd love to hear what you think about this ad.
Do you think we should have more of them on TV?
Do you think American's will find the commercial disgusting or informative...or both?


If advertisements really work, how do you feel about these ads?

red bull
If you start drinking Red Bull, will you be able to surf like this?

Smart for life cookies
Would you be able to maintain your current exercise routine, train for a race and/or live a normal life on this cookie diet?



Lipoway
How did I ever live without this? And it is free!!! Only kidding. For many people, this commercial may seem like the missing link in a failing weight loss plan. For athletes, this commercial may be the trick to getting that lean body that is desired for the upcoming season. Do you think this commercial is misleading? Perhaps, too good to be true?

Or how about this one?
Hydroxycut



So to the every-day individual, seeking weight loss or a consistent exercise routine, perhaps the commercials I posted may seem believable. But what about for athletes? Perhaps as multisport athletes we understand that for performance gains, a cookie diet is not realistic. Regular soda may be an occasional treat to a dedicated
triathlete but I could see how a Red Bull commercial could be a bit more captivating. Let's take a look at this commercial:

Gatorade: Chris Legh
Any Ironman triathlon commercial can be inspiring. We all know that Gatorade is the primary sport drink for the majority of athletic races in the US. While I believe that Hammer Nutrition offers the best products to support performance gains, I am sure I am not alone in thinking that there are a lot of better products available to consumers besides Gatorade...yet, to the non-triathlete and newbie fitness enthusiast, this commercial may be so motivating that the consumer may feel that Gatorade is the only sport drink to fuel workouts.

So maybe ads aren't your thing. Maybe you think that these commercials are just entertaining and you would never buy-in to something so silly.
I did a quick google search for sports nutrition supplements on triathlon-related websites. Here's what I found;
*I picked products that I believe are most common among athletes
Optygen HP
First endurance Multi
First endurance pre-race
Hammer anti-fatigue caps
Hammer Endurolytes
Hammer Endurance Aminos
Sport Legs
Sports Quest Motivator
Sports Quest Vantage VO2 Max
Sports Quest Recover
Base Performance Salt
Base Performance Aminos
Base Performance Multi
NO-explode
Whey Protein
Creatine
EPO-boost
EAS HMB caps
EAS phosphagen elite
EAS endurathon


These are just a few. It does seem a bit silly that there are so many products available to consumers. I must say, there are very few products backed by the FDA and really, it is a bit too easy to create products that may/may not work.
As for the products I listed, you've probably seen the ads in magazines or at least, heard about most of them. I was just wondering if you use any of these supplements or if you know of people using these supplements? How do you feel about supplements? Do you use any supplements?
As you know, I am a believer in supplements when they are necessary. I'd love to hear your thoughts :)