WEEK 2 EOC: Red Bull: is wings really what it gives you?

It is brave to make such a bold statement as to say one 16 Oz can will make you fly. But this is exactly the bold route that Red Bull decided to take. Quite contradicting to their emblem, which is two Red heavy Bulls, their most notorious campaign uses a statement that might make people feel light weight and magical.

Because sometimes, regular coffee doesn’t cut it. Regular coffee doesn’t let you fly, and when life become more than bearable, there’re red bull to give you the super natural, to give you the ability to fly.

Personally, I believe in the power of Red Bull and their marketing techniques. They definitely catered to the right crowd when I was attending college. There were girls dressed in cutoff shorts and Red Bull tanks passing the drink out from their Red Bull shaped back pack. And who better to get hooked on your product than tired college students?

What appeals to me about this product is the sleekness and thinness of the bottle. I do have to admit, there is something addicting about the product. The taste is exceptional to me, and I can definitely tell the difference between this beverage and a different one. Not to mention, ordering a vodka Red bull sounds way more chic than ordering a vodka tonic.

To me, drinking out of that skinny blue can, means that you are a very busy person, and you have to resort to above average measures to keep up with your busy busy life.

But Red Bull indeed, settled a false advertising lawsuit in March, 2015 to the tune of 13 million. The class action suit claims that Red Bull is misleading, as it really does not give you any kind of “wings” or “boost” and the ingredients are less than average, as the active ingredient is caffeine.

I guess this explains why lately, we haven’t seen any of the cute stick figured Red Bull men grow a pair of wings. I wonder what the advertising community will do to come back from this.