Water Water everywhere ...

Campbell Live did a piece on one of my favorite new drinks recently. Looking at Vitamin Water, and of course the other variations in the market. The bottom line of the article, handed down by the New Zealand commerce commission was "Don't waste your money". The company is also up against some false advertising claims due to its promotion as a healthy option, although Vitamin Water is meant to be referred to as a "Lifestyle drink".
Somehow my opinion of the product has not been changed at all. I can see how people would have a problem with a drink that seems to promote itself as a health drink. The thing is you should really only need half a brain to read a label before you purchase something.
"Each 500 millitre bottle contains half the sugar of a can of Coke and less than 1 per cent fruit juice." - Sydney Morning Herald
Of course it contains sugar, it's FLAVOURED water, the first time I picked up a bottle of the stuff I was aware I was going to be taking a good hit of kilojoules I would be needing to burn off. I do not kid myself when making a purchase of something that is bright PINK that it is necessarily the best option for me. I am also skeptical of the health benefits of something like this.
I agree there are some problems with the way these drinks are marketed and promoted, they can certainly be deceptive. But I think people are far too willing to blame advertising and packaging when they fail to take the time to simply educate themselves on the product.
At around NZ$3.50 a bottle this stuff isn't cheap, but the price of a Coke, Red Bull or a V isn't cheap either. Personally any time I buy a beverage I consider it a 'treat' item ... even plain bottled water I consider on this level, not on a healthy eating 'treat' but a financial one. So when looking over my options for a treat I want something that tastes good, I want something that will make me feel good, even if it is a guilty good or just a caffeine hit. Vitamin water has become one of my top 'treat' beverages if I want to grab a bottle of something, it tastes good, it has less sugar than a Coke (less cancer than diet Coke) and there may be some small benefit in the added vitamins.
It worries me however that consumers don't seem to take the time to educate themselves about the products they buy, I feel like there is a lot of blame placed on marketing and on the evils of corporate giants like McDonald's. I don't think McDonald's makes anyone fat on purpose, granted they spend a lot of money on marketing and branding, the golden arches have become synonymous with obestity yet people still eat there. The problem is not the food, in all its grease-soaked glory, the problem is how simply uneducated most people are about basic nutrition. It's also testament to how lazy or simply unequipped people are that they would pour hard-earned money into the corporate pockets than turn on an oven. We need to teach people and motivate them to look after themselves. I don't think it's lost on them that eating fastfood is making them fat, I think they just don't know how to survive without it, a lack of time or knowledge to prepare real meals.
Don't blame Vitamin Water, don't blame McDonalds, at some point we have to take responsibility for our own health, we need to take marketing and packaging with a grain of salt and make decisions based on the nutritional panel not the brand name.

Show a little intelligence and take control of your own life. I'm not going to stop buying Vitamin Water because I've been told it's a waste of money, I was always aware it was, it makes me think other people are pathetic that they need an expose on a television show for them to realise the product may not be all it appears at first glance.