What's the first sport that comes to mind when I say the word energy? GOLF! Right? In almost every case...wrong. This ad from 5-Hour Energy is a complete and utter shank (speaking in golf terms). Now I may have a slightly unique perspective on this commercial because it features professional golfer, Jim Furyk. He is from Lancaster, Pennsylvania which is about 40 minutes from my hometown. Being a obsessed and passionate golfer myself, I had the pleasure of going to the 2011 U.S. Open in Bethesda, Maryland and had the honor of meeting and talking to Jim Furyk. Of course I brought up where I was from and that I knew one of his best friends, who was a long-time basketball coach at a neighboring high school in my school district growing up. Jim Furyk is one of the nicest and well-respected guys on the PGA Tour, however he has a somewhat somber and unaltering personality when he is on the course. He may crack a few smiles here and there and may give the ocassional waist-high fist pump after a clutch shot, but that's it. To this point, I am completely flabbergasted as to what 5-Hour Energy was thinking when they selected a golfer, let alone Jim Furyk, to represent their product.
5-Hour Energy claims to give you a surge of energy that makes you alert and more focused. Well, that may be true but how the heck are we supposed to get that message from Jim Furyk? A large number of athletes that play other, contact sports do not even view golf as a sport at all but more of a hobby and being a golfer all of my life, I can attest to that. So if are a football player, boxer, wrestler, or baseball player and you watch this commercial, a smile and a chuckle are going to be impossible to hold back. This commercial seems like a 5-year-old wrote it to be perfectly honest. It's almost like it was a contest to see how many times they could say "energy" in 30 seconds. We know that the product is about energy; it's in the name of the product!
Now, maybe this ad was aiming for those that lack the necessary amount of energy to get through their day, athletic challenges, or other bodily demands. I get that. But I think that it would have been much more effective to show the benefits of the product rather than simply stating them, and lets face it, coming from someone who speaks in a bland monotone isn't cutting the cake. Using an athlete that is in the middle of a tense situation or that is about to attempt a record-breaking feat would showcase the effects of this product much more vividly and more believably, rather than someone standing and hitting a golf ball or sitting in a meeting. Even though this product can apply to those occasions, it is all about image and sticking out in the consumers' minds.
I agree that 5-Hour Energy needs to target those people who work long hours, who are constantly going and those who may lack the motivation to get through the day. But the main idea that 5-Hour Energy needs to communicate here is that this product will give you a boost to get you through those painstaking days that seem to never end. I still think that this product is the root of many skeptical attitudes and saying that it gives you energy over and over again does not build trust in the product. Jim Firyk, or any golfer for that matter, was simply not the right choice for 5-Hour Energy, who is still trying to find that niche in the market for themselves. Slowly but surely they may get there, but as for now, if they come out with another commercial like this one, they will have to change their name to 5-Hour Nap.
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