NAD: 5 Hour Energy Ads Are Right: Monster Really Is Full of Sugar
Energy drink Monster really is full of sugar and its rival, 5 Hour Energy, should go even further to point that out, according to the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus.
Living Essentials' commercials for 5 Hour Energy claim that there's "over 12 teaspoons of sugar and 200 calories in these energy drinks," while showing a hand spooning sugar over a Monster can.
Monster maker Hansen protested to the NAD that the ad showed an apples-to-oranges comparison because the two products are different sizes. 5 Hour Energy's cans are in the form of a shot, whereas Monster is packaged in 16-ounce cans.
NAD didn't buy it. Both drinks are a single serving and Monster is indeed full of liquid sucrose, NAD said. Then, to rub salt into the wound, NAD recommended that 5 Hour Energy be more specific in its bashing of Monster:
NAD recommended that the advertiser modify its advertising to have each can face front so that the name is clearly visible.