"Power Balance" Wristbands: Rubber Bands with a Big Marketing Budget

Submitted by Anne Landman on

PowerBalance WristbandsPower Balance of Orange County, California makes rubber bracelets with a holographic inset that "are designed to work with your body's natural energy field" to increase strength, balance and flexibility. The bands sell on Amazon.com for anywhere from $4.25 to $30.00. The company has poured tens of millions of dollars into a marketing campaign that features sports heroes and athletes like Shaquille O'Neil promoting the product. But on December 22, 2010, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ruled that claims that the bracelets improve strength, balance and flexibility "were not supported by any credible scientific evidence," and made Power Balance admit that it engaged in "misleading and deceptive conduct in breach of 2.52 of the Trade Practices Act of 1974." The Commission told Power Balance to stop making bogus claims about the product, refund the purchase price of the wrist band to people who feel they were misled, publish a corrective advertisement to keep consumers from being misled in the future and remove the words "performance technology" from the brand. The Australian ruling isn't valid in other countries, however.

Main Source: 
BizCommunity.com, January 11, 2011
Topics: 
Advertising
Marketing

Comments

Twinarp replied on

The Question "Why ONLY Australia?" springs to mind.
You are being fooled by science-y sounding rubbish and I quote:

"Power Balance is based on the idea of optimizing the body’s natural energy flow, similar to concepts behind many Eastern philosophies. The hologram in Power Balance is designed to resonate with and respond to the natural energy field of the body"

Let's have a quick look at this science-y sounding rubbish.

"based on the idea of optimizing the body’s natural energy flow": What? Not on the actual optimizing, just the idea of optimizing" I wonder how that works?

"the body’s natural energy flow": Again, What? The human body has NEVER been shown to have an 'energy flow' Even the ancient idea of 'vital force' was discarded by science and medicine over 80 years ago.

"similar to concepts behind many Eastern philosophies": MORE BS? Only similar to the concepts of Eastern philosophies, not ACTUALLY any Eastern philosophies. They would have to name a philosophy for any comparisons to be made. They must have missed that.

"The hologram in Power Balance is designed to resonate with and respond to the natural energy field of the body": Yeah, yeah, it's DESIGNED to resonate and respond, that gets around actually saying that it DOES resonate and respond, because that WOULD be a straight out lie. And reinforce the 'natural energy field' rubbish some more.

and

Strangely, (or not) there is no mention of Australia on PowerBalance's website anymore.

Finally, Tests have shown that the bands do NONE of the things claimed, do not have ANY plausible method of action and are no better than a box of rubber bands from your local Office Supply store.

Good Luck
TWINARP

Really Mutternich replied on

To me, those claims don't even sound remotely "science-y," but "new-age-y" in the lowest understanding of that term.

Anonymous replied on

This is a ridiculous "consumer advocacy" issue. There are all kinds of charm shops and the like that sell bracelets and amulets and little stones that "carry healing energy." They certainly don't harm people and it's an insubstantial sum of money. At least people have found a way to make a living - with "magicial jewelry" - if the consumer parks their brain on this subject, I see this has comparable to paying a guy on a street corner for a tarot card reading. What about religious crosses, for that matter? Are people who manufacture Christian crosses bilking the consumer?

So What? Go after companies who are really doing harm. How about health insurance companies? Big oil and what they're selling us? About 'bout the magical belief that we should be paying 500,000. for decent housing?

Mutternich replied on

This isn't just a street-corner fortune teller, and the sums of money aren't "insubstantial":

"The company has poured tens of millions of dollars into a marketing campaign that features sports heroes and athletes like Shaquille O'Neil promoting the product."

Nonetheless, they aren't being required to stop selling it -- just stop making unsubstantiated claims about it. Check amazon.com; it's there without the claims.

"Go after companies who are really doing harm. How about health insurance companies? Big oil and what they're selling us?"

They have, in case you hadn't noticed.

Anonymous replied on

"Nonetheless, they aren't being required to stop selling it -- just stop making unsubstantiated claims about it. Check amazon.com; it's there without the claims."

Just because amazon has a certain standard of selling doesn't mean it should be imposed by law on everyone else. There are plenty of products and books on the American market that make all kinds of unsubstantiated claims as well. Take the so-called "Holy Bible" for example. That's the biggest bunch of unsubstantiated claims in history, along with the sale of products that believe are Holy and will protect them, along with a whole range of other nonsense.

I see no difference between wearing a crucifix or a bracelet promoted by Shaquille O'Neill. I think you're the one who doesn't get it. Do you happen to feel offended if someone thinks their bracelet is as credible as your crucifix?

"They have, in case you hadn't noticed."

I don't know who "they" is in your sentence, but as far as I"m concerned, no one is doing nearly the job they should in going after the real crooks.

Mutternich replied on

I see no difference between wearing a crucifix or a bracelet promoted by Shaquille O'Neill.

It's not wearing either a crucifix or an "energy balancing" bracelet; it's SELLING either one with an unsubstantiated claim of a particular physical benefit.

Besides, lots of people buy Bibles and crucifixes without any such expectation. So what's the problem, won't those bracelets make any money for anyone without those phony claims?

And just because it's not possible to chase down every such scam being run, that's not a reason not to go after the ones you can, especially if they're doing business in the millions of dollars.

...but as far as I'm concerned, no one is doing nearly the job they should in going after the real crooks.

Then why don't you yourself do something along those lines instead of working so hard to defend this scam? And don't bother telling me you have; you've already gotten off to too good a start on the wrong foot.

Anonymous replied on

"It's not wearing either a crucifix or an "energy balancing" bracelet; it's SELLING either one with an unsubstantiated claim of a particular physical benefit."

Oh puleez. Go google "restore energy balance" and you come up with 350,000 internet products, including mats, books, powders, make-up, necklaces, rings, shirts, underwear - give me a break.

Try "crucifix healing" and it's 440,000 results including stones, oils, crosses, clay, pilgrimage sites that cost a heck of a lot of money to travel to so people can park their brains and seek treatment for cancer there instead on in a hospital.

I could dig up millions more for you.

"Then why don't you yourself do something along those lines instead of working so hard to defend this scam? And don't bother telling me you have; you've already gotten off to too good a start on the wrong foot."

This is just a stupid comment. I'm not defending scamming; I just don't think that the law should be thrown at everyone selling a fortune cookie, and in the case of your argument, because they made a lot of money at it. That isn't a logical argument - it's just dumb.

Anonymous replied on

In addition to what I just posted -

try Ouija Board - over 900,000 hits. Talk to the dead anyone? How much money in that market?

I take back what I said about digging up millions. How about billions?

Anonymous replied on

"Besides, lots of people buy Bibles and crucifixes without any such expectation"

Lots of people buy those bracelets, I'm sure, without any such expectation either. It's just hot fashion because Shaquille O'Neill is hawking it and everyone on the block has one and hey, let me have that color because it matches my shoes or my hat.

People buy Bibles and crucifixes for the same mass appeal mentality whether they "truly" believe or not.

So there goes that argument of yours too.

Mutternich replied on

Lots of people buy those bracelets, I'm sure, without any such expectation either. It's just hot fashion because Shaquille O'Neill is hawking it and everyone on the block has one..."

Then there should be no problem NOT making bogus health claims to sell the product.

I'm not defending scamming..."

Well...in the sense that "Everybody does it, why don't you go pick on someone else?" is a p***-poor defense...hey, you're right! :-)

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