A study carried out in Melbourne concluded that sports drink manufacturers and makers of nutritional supplements "should be banned from sponsoring sporting events," according to Ian Griggs of MARKETING MAGAZINE. While not as bad as tobacco, alcohol or fast food, Simon Outram and Bob Stewart of the Institute of Sports, Exercise & Active Living said that "sponsorship of these products lends them 'unwarranted credibility.'"
Writing in the British Medical Journal, Outram and Stewart said, "The fact that these products are marketed as beneficial or essential for sporting prowess or general health, when the evidence has so far failed to substantiate these claims or justify their cost, is likely to make it harder for the public to judge the value of these products objectively."
The researchers suggested that the makers of these products "were trying to present them as 'integral to sport' and that celebrity endorsement reinforced this concept in the minds of the public."
They said, "It is for good reason that nutritional supplement and sports drink companies invest heavily in sports sponsorship" (MARKETING MAGAZINE, 9/23).