Does Your Doctor Really Recommend 5 Hour Energy???

So I was watching TV the other day when I saw a commercial for 5 hour energy shots. I'm sure most of you have seen this commercial or if not I have attached the link below:

http://needenergy.com/commercial.php

In the commercial they make the claim that over 73% of 3,000 doctors surveyed recommend 5 hour energy drink. However upon further review and simply reading a line or two into the fine print, you begin to realize that they have done a great job of rewording the claims to their benefit. Below are the true stats from the survey:

• 73% of Doctors said they would recommend a low calorie energy supplement to their healthy patients who use energy supplements.
• Of that 73%, only 56% said they would specifically recommend 5 hour energy to healthy patients.
• 47% of all Doctor's surveyed would specifically recommend 5 hour energy to healthy patients.

When looking at this numbers they are not bad, but 47% recommending 5 hour energy compared to 73% is a huge drop. As we learned today in class, this advertisement is not illegal however I would consider it to be deceptive advertising. To a reasonable consumer the commercial tries to express the claim that over 73% of Doctors recommend this product, when only 47% specifically recommended it. In addition upon further research I could not find any sources of who these doctors were or how they were selected. Both major flaws in traditional marketing protocol. Finally, just to add to more uncertainty about the product it still has not been FDA approved; despite being on the market for more than 5 years.

Overall Facts:  

1. 5 Hour Energy paid for this survey and did not realize the doctors information
2. 47% not 73% recommended 5 Hour Energy specifically 
3. The FDA has still not officially approved the health benefits of this product

So overall I consider this ad to be acting in deceptive advertising. Despite all I have just said I do like 5 Hour Energy shots, I use them time to time and probably will continue to use them in the future. However, I have never linked my decision of purchasing a 5 Hour Energy shot with what my doctor would recommend for me. If anything I become slightly angry that 5 Hour Energy would try to fool consumers into purchasing their product by using unidentified doctor testimonies. In my book, it puts their brand at no higher of a reputation than an infomercial for a weight loss supplement.

I thank you for reading my post and look forward to addressing anymore deceptive advertising in the future.

Thanks,

Andrew

Sources:

http://www.doctorsreview5hour.com/index.php?utm_source=NeedEnergySite&utm_medium=weblink&utm_content=CommercialPage&utm_campaign=DoctorsReview