It’s All In The Bottle

Why What’s Inside Is What’s Outside

If you’re like me, you probably have a fridge full of all sorts of random things with a number of supposed health benefits. POM Tea, Silk Milk, Red Bull; the list is virtually endless. Of course, I know that deep down, the actual effects of these beverages are sketchy at best. But, nevertheless, I continue to buy them because of the way they make me feel.

No doubt you’ve done this at least once. You walk into the store, pick up everything that you need, and head for the last item on your list when suddenly you see it: some smoothie, some juice, some vitamin-infused water that you’ve either read about or heard about in some obscure article (much like this one). “Hmm…” you think to yourself. “I suppose that I could try it. $1.99 isn’t too bad if it keeps me healthy. It sure beats a visit to the doctor.” You end up walking out with a smile on your face and $2 less in your wallet.

A day or so later, you walk to the fridge and crack open your new beverage. To no one’s surprise, you’ll face one of two results: it’s the absolute worst thing you’ve ever tasted or it is, in your opinion, the most incredible thing you’ve ever tasted. The former usually occurs when the drink is actually healthy. The latter is often the result of things that have been added for flavor that almost definitely compromise the actual health benefits, but nevertheless, taste very good indeed.

Your next trip to the grocery leaves you with a bottle of water from a small country that the world has just recognized to exist, Red Bull, and a six-pack of Vitamin Water. Your wallet is now roughly $20 lighter than when you walked through the door. Interestingly enough, all of the above beverages are physically equivalent to much cheaper (and less healthy) counterparts. What’s surprising is that, statistically, they may in fact set themselves apart because of the way that they make your feel.

When you look at the bottle, carton, label, or glass several words stand out in your mind. These words can be any combination of the following and are likely the result of a clever marketing team that knows just how to balance the negative qualities of a beverage with the positive ones that were added later with the sole purpose of the bottle in mind. Vitamin X, Herbalerba, Poozie Root, Antioxidific; I could probably sit here all day making up words. And so could they.

The truth of the matter is that all of these health additives probably shouldn’t make you smarter, more focused, healthier, or lighter…until your brain kicks in. In their book Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior, authors Ori and Rom Brafman discuss this very effect in relation to SoBe Adrenaline Rush. In the experiment described in the book, a group of economists tested several groups of students to determine the effects of the drink on the students’ test scores. One group took the test without receiving any of the drink to be tested, the second group received a can of SoBe at a cost of $2.89, and a third group received a can of SoBe after being informed that they were receiving a discount and their beverages would cost them $.89. The second and third groups received an identical parade of information highlighting the supposed health benefits and effects of the drink and watched a short film while the beverages supposedly took effect. So what happened? The students that paid more for the drink scored quite a bit higher on their tests than those who paid less for it. The economists’ conclusion showcases the effect, described as physical and mental effects artificially created by value attribution to SoBe, and realizes that “expectations change the reality we live in” (1).  

Of course, I’ve just scratched the surface of this phenomenon by summarizing their ideas. But, if you’re interested, I’d highly recommend Sway. It’s an incredibly interesting look at the science that separates perception and reality, an ever more important notion within the world of marketing.

(1) Sway: The Irrestible Pull of Irrational Behavior. Brafman, Ori & Brafman, Rom. 2008. P. 56.