The story was about the rise of Powersource wristbands in sport.
The bands, according to Powersource’s website, use “holographic technology” to send energy flowing through the body.
And a lot of sports stars are wearing them for extra power.
Adelaidenow did a really good feature on the wristbands back in April, asking perspectives from a range of players who’ve used them and doctors who’ve studied them.
The main points of the story were that:
- Scientists deny any medical benefits other than a placebo effect
- And that sports stars will gladly endorse them to make a quid
“It is claimed the wonder band can increase an athlete's core strength and power by as much as 500 per cent.
Have a think about that. Does that mean a man who can bench press 100kg can all of a sudden lift 500kg?
Forget about tackling: there could soon be a day when a footballer is hurled over the grandstand by a charged-up opponent.”
There’s been a lot of news stories about Powersource already this year and there’ll be more. Especially if sporting codes decide to ban the wristbands as a performance enhancing device.
It’s fantastic publicity for the product.
But it seems a lot of the media are happy to provide an entirely free plug. The story in yesterday’s Age took up the entire front page, describing the wristbands as “a genius marketing strategy”.
There’s clearly a bit of genius to it. As long as some important players use the wristbands and as long as there’s a bit of mystery – Powersource spokespeople avoid commenting on the science involved – it will capture media interest and create free exposure.
The media need to take a little more questioning and skepticism rather than just adding to its publicity.
And they also need to acknowledge Rainier Wolfcastle as the original champion of the Powersource/Powersauce brand.
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