Posts Tagged ‘ FRS Energy Drink ’

Forget Oprah, We Had Lance Armstrong’s Number Years Ago!

January 19th, 2013. By AbiK

Gotta say…Lance, Lance, we knew you when, big guy…

When you still thought you had a prayer in you-know-what of beating this whole thing. But we knew you…didn’t.

See, our readers know that if you want to know if something, or someone, is a scam, you come here first.

Not that we take pleasure in having a few back slaps and high-fives by the water cooler at the expense of someone’s demise. Well, actually, in this case we do (though we don’t, actually, have a water cooler).

While many out there were still trying to cut Lance some slack, we knew his ride was pretty much over. And we knew he hadn’t been getting that ‘peak performance’ from a freakin’ bottle of FRS Energy Drink. C’mon Lance…could it have been the performance enhancing drugs? Oh right—Oprah already coaxed that one out of you.

As LawyersandSettlements.com’s senior legal correspondent Jane Mundy—who first reported on the FRS Energy Drink false advertising allegations in September 2010—said at the time:

“It’s hard to believe that Lance Armstrong, FRS poster boy, would be associated with any false advertising. Or is it?”

Uh, no Jane, apparently it’s not!

Jane went on to share with one of Lance’s hoodwinked supporters that not only was Lance lying through his teeth about any performance benefits coming from 19g of sugar, but he was also getting paid for it—hello disclosure—not only as an FRS spokesperson, but also as a member of the FRS board of directors! Make that check out to “Lance Armstrong” please…

Post-script, FRS dropped Lance. Regardless of whatever claims the makers of FRS may make, they’re no fools: bye-bye Lance.

Oh, and speaking of FRS, they’ve got another little post-script—an FRS false advertising class action lawsuit that’s recently been filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court (12/5/12). Only now, as Bevnet reports, it’s FRS Healthy Slim that’s in the cross-hairs. Guess someone wasn’t magically dropping those pounds.

Well, Lance may have been living strong and feeding us all some dope about his performance. But we never bought it.

Tags: Consumer Fraud, false advertising, FRS Energy Drink, Lance Armstrong
Posted in Celebrity, Class Action, Consumer Fraud, Emerging Issues | 2 Comments »

FRS Energy Drink All Smoke and Mirrors?

October 5th, 2010. By janem

Before you spend money on a FRS energy drink, consider reading the label’s list of ingredients. Sure, the good stuff is included, but so are sugars. And that amount doesn’t bode well with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines.

Let’s start with the FRS label. If you’ve consumed one FRS energy drink, you’ve almost had your quota of sugar (One 11.5 oz can contains 19 grams) for the day. The USDA recommends the following:

1,600 calories – Limit sugar to 6 teaspoons per day or 22 grams per day
2,200 calories – Limit sugar to 12 teaspoons per day or 44 grams per day
2,800 calories – Limit sugar to 18 teaspoons per day or 66 grams per day

FRS also contains caffeine—but the label doesn’t say how much. Interestingly, the label shows vitamin percent daily values based on a 2,000 calorie diet, but neglects to add the percentage information regarding sugar or Quercetin. So is it all smoke and mirrors?

According to the Mayo Clinic, quercetin and other antioxidants that are contained in FRS energy drinks are considered healthy, but studies have shown that the most benefits come from eating or drinking them in foods or beverages where they occur naturally, such as apple skins, red onions and berries, rather than taking supplements. Furthermore, taking large quantities of antioxidants can cause health problems, so it may not be a good idea to consume more than the recommended daily allowances. And the jury is still out on the recommended daily Quercetin allowance, which is why FRS states on its label that Quercetin’s “Daily Value not Established”.

The people at FRS claim their product is a healthier alternative to traditional energy drinks (such as Red Bull or Monster) because it contains antioxidants rather than relying on large amounts of sugar and caffeine to boost the energy levels those who drink it.

Well that may be true, but comparing any energy drink to Red Bull can make just about any product look healthy. Their claim doesn’t mean that energy drinks are healthy. If Red Bull or Monster were healthy, that would be another story. Or if FRS claims it was a healthier alternative to, say, eating an apple and a banana, it might have something worthwhile to promote. That is based on the assumption that the FRS energy drink isn’t falsely advertised.

FRS Spokesperson Lance Armstrong

It’s hard to believe that Lance Armstrong, FRS poster boy, would be associated with any false advertising. Or is it? FRS, is a savvy multi-million dollar company with Pepsi-cola backing and knows how gullible the public can be when it comes to having sports heroes promote their product. Case in point: Coach Levi, who seems to have fallen hook, line and sinker for Lance Armstrong’s promo ads.

” It turns out that this energy drink is endorsed by none other than Lance Armstrong!,” says coach Levi. “Apparently Lance scrutinized the science behind this energy drink and deemed it worthy of consumption. He’s even sitting on the Board of Directors for the company now, so he must really believe in this stuff.”

Sorry to break the news to you Coach, but your hero not only sits on the board–he is also an investor in FRS. That means he is getting paid to say good things about FRS. But coach, enjoy the scam while you can. (By the way, I sat through your video, demonstrating how to make a drink from FRS concentrate or powder, and it’s about as exciting as watching cheese ripen—hope FRS paid you well.) And sorry to really break your bubble, but according to Zeta Interactive, a marketing firm that tracks online sentiments, Mr. Armstrong’s golden boy image is in jeopardy.

Recently, prosecutors subpoenaed documents from a 2004 case in which a Texas company with business ties to Armstrong tried to prove he used drugs in order to avoid paying him a performance bonus. The Lance Armstrong Foundation has not been accused of wrongdoing, but it is so closely linked with Armstrong it could be hurt.

Meanwhile FRS is expanding its commitment to Armstrong and the foundation and plans to feature the FRS investor and board member in national television ads this October. FRS also recently agreed to support the foundation for at least three more years.

“Anyone or anything associated with Lance Armstrong should be very worried right now,” Zeta Interactive CEO Al DiGuido said. “He has faced these kinds of allegations before, but the fuel really seems to be kicking in this time.”

And here are some last words of advice from Jock Joose:

” I can’t believe athletes such as Lance Armstrong actually promote this stuff.   It’s a total scam.  Offering a sub par supplement and praying on people in a bad economy.  I now hate Lance because of this as well.    This is a warning to anyone who is considering getting the free trial  – DON’T DO IT.”

Tags: FRS Energy Drink
Posted in Emerging Issues | 14 Comments »

Ben & Jerry’s Agrees to Lose “All Natural” Claim; On to FRS…

September 30th, 2010. By LucyC

Those bastions of all that is good about ice cream—Ben & Jerry’s—had their wrists slapped recently over the inappropriate use of the phrase “All Natural”. And they, unlike some other companies I will mention, had the good sense to do something about the false claim. 

Apparently, there are about 48 of Ben & Jerry’s products that aren’t ‘All Natural’, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a nutrition and food safety watchdog group based in Washington, DC.  

In case you’re wondering just what the heck constitutes ‘natural’, information on the CSPI website states that “The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which regulates meat and poultry, lets products be labeled “natural” if they do not include artificial colors or ingredients, or are not more than “minimally processed,” by which the agency means a process that doesn’t fundamentally alter the raw ingredient. But the FDA, which regulates all other foods, has no such definition. It told CSPI several years ago that defining the term was “not among our enforcement priorities.” 

Of course the irony in this is that the sugar and cream in ice cream will likely cause more harm to your arteries—not to mention your teeth—than most of the “unnatural products” in Ben & Jerry’s ice creams and frozen yogurts, products including alkalized cocoa, corn syrup, and partially hydrogenated soybean oil. 

Nevertheless, Ben and Jerry’s, not wishing to tarnish their best of the best image, have agreed to phase out the use of “All Natural” claims on their labels. 

Oh, that all manufacturers were so obliging. Not so in the instance of FRS Healthy Energy Drink, a line of products sold by the FRS Company and distributed by PepsiCo. The product Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Ben & Jerry's, Coca-Cola, Coke, false advertising, FRS Energy Drink, VitaminWater
Posted in Consumer Fraud, Emerging Issues | No Comments »