Balance of Nature Supplements Ad Commercial Date of the message: This message began airing on May 27, 2024 and is currently an active commercial. Author/Originator of message: Balance of Nature Message location: Television (Fox News) and the internet. Commercial was found and can be viewed at:(1) https://www.ispot.tv/ad/6Xan/balance-of-nature-fox-news-free-fiber-and-spice-35-off What was the method of communication? Ad Commercial Message YOU heard/saw/observed: This ad commercial consisted of “success stories” (personal testimonies) from a podiatrist named Dr. Zang, a chiropractor named Dr. Munda, and a paramedic/firefighter named Todd. The commercial suggests that Dr. Zang, Todd, and Dr. Munda live successful professional lives and suggests that they also live very active lives because they consume Balance of Nature supplements. Dr. Zang’s physical appearance in the commercial looks very sporty with him riding an electric unicycle motorcycle in the desert and hiking in the desert later in the commercial. Dr. Zang claims he’s been taking Balance of Nature supplements for 23-years, and it shows him pulling out the “Fruits” Balance of Nature supplement bottle and consuming supplements while he is hiking in the desert. Dr. Munda appears sitting at a boat marina with both the “Fruits” and “Veggies” Balance of Nature supplement bottles. Dr. Munda claims that he will take Balance of Nature supplements until the day he dies. Todd claims he “loves” Balance of Nature supplements and will “never stop taking it.” The commercial ends with a 35% discount in addition to a “limited time offer” of the “Fiber & Spice” Balance of Nature product. Based on this, the message I saw, heard, and observed was, “If you take this supplement, you can lead a successful professional life and can also live an active life just like me.” Additionally, I assess another underlying message is the attempt to convince the consumer that long-term use of this supplement is “safe” (i.e. Dr. Zang claims he’s being taking these supplements for 23-years and both Todd and Dr. Munda claim they will “never stop taking it” or “will take it till the day I die).” These messages may signal to unsuspecting consumers that Balance of Nature supplements are perfectly safe to take long-term and that the consumer may be able to live a successful professional and active lifestyle if they take this supplement. I also observed a “hook” tactic by the commercial offering a 35% discount plus an additional “free” Balance of Nature product if consumers use the discount code “FOXNEWS.” I assess this tactic was used to try and bait the consumer into ordering the product by giving them a “good deal.” What was the intended message? This message intended to convince the audience that “Balance of Nature” supplements are safe, can be used long-term, and may result in the consumer living a successful professional life in addition to participating in an active lifestyle. Who was the intended audience? The intended audience was men ≥40 years of age as as all individuals in the commercial are men who appear to be at least 40 years or older. How does the message support health and well-being? In my assessment, this message does not support health and well-being. This message is attempting to convince the consumer that three active successful individuals have been taking this supplement long-term and will take this supplement “until the day I die.” This message is trying to convince the consumer to buy and take these supplements long term, with no scientific evidence to support their claims. This is damaging and potentially dangerous. In what ways can the message be damaging? This message is extremely damaging as there is no evidence that Balance of Nature supplements are safe to take long-term. Additionally, naming the supplements “Fruits” and “Veggies” may trick unsuspecting consumers into thinking that these supplements are just as good as eating fruits and vegetables or that these supplements are safe alternatives to consuming fruits and vegetables. What personal thoughts do YOU have about the message? In my assessment, this message is extremely misleading. Unfortunately, the commercial did a great job showing supposedly successful, educated men who take this supplement. The commercial is trying to make the consumer believe that “doctors” take Balance of Nature supplements, so they “must be safe.” This is misleading and not true. The “doctors” featured are a podiatrist and a chiropractor. A chiropractor is not a medical doctor (MD) and often practice quackery. Though a podiatrist is an MD, they are not cardiologists, oncologist, family practice physicians, gastroenterologists, immunologists, etc. A podiatrist is one medical doctor specialty and does speak for the entirety of all MDs. Additionally, this commercial featured one podiatrist, who does not speak for the entirety of the podiatry MD community. The commercial also showed all three men living active lifestyles, which may indicate to the consumer that if they consume these supplements, they too can live active lives. I take issue with this as consumers would be much better off eating actual fruits and vegetables vice taking this supplement. However, I do not like this company and personally think this company is predatory and misleading. I have seen many predatory commercials from Balance of Nature in the past. For example, I viewed one commercial that had “real customers with “real success” stories. These customers made egregious claims such as “Balance of nature is actually fruits and vegetables, so it’s what your body needs every day” and “I put things in my body that make me feel good” and “I know this works.”(2) This company provides no scientific evidence but instead focuses on personal testimonies of supposed customers in an attempt to convince older adults that they need to take Balance of Nature supplements to live healthy, active lives. Sidenote: I decided to turn Fox News on while writing this piece out of curiosity to see if a Balance of Nature commercial would play. I literally just saw a Balance of Nature commercial with a woman stating, “Balance of Nature is Magic in a bottle, and I know this works.” I have been working on this for an hour, so I have personally observed one commercial in the past hour. References 1. iSpot.tv. Balance of Nature TV spot, ‘FOX News: Free Fiber & Spice + 35% Off.’ Published May 27, 2024. Accessed July 14, 2024. 2. iSpot.tv. Balance of Nature TV spot, ‘Fox News: What Your Body Needs.’ Published August 13, 2023. Accessed July 15, 2024. https://www.ispot.tv/ad/5Vc2/balance-of-nature-fox-news-what-your-body-needs