There's nothing "new" about either aspect of Solixir energy drinks' product line or advertising campaign, but the Chicago-based beverage startup has created an original mashup of functional drinks and zombie-based marketing.

Solixir's four situation-specific formulas are Restore (for immune support), Think (for mental acuity), Relax and Awaken (for a "gentle" energy boost). It becomes the umpteenth beverage brand, ranging from startups to Fortune 500 behemoths, that lately have tried to snare American consumers with the promise of providing just the right two-ounce elixir for whatever nutritional or life challenge or circumstance that is facing them at a particular moment.

At the same time, basing a marketing campaign on zombie chic is like beating a dead ... well, whatever. As noted over the weekend by the Wall Street Journal, "interest in flesh-eating ghouls has far outstripped popular enthusiasm for vampires, wizards and hobbits." Even the federal government is using zombies to market these days in the wake of the mammoth success of AMC's The Walking Dead, buzz for the coming movie World War Z and other exemplars of the meme. And, of course, there's Zombie Blood and Zombie Jerky.Continue reading...

Energy drink companies think they’ve been given a bad rap. They claim to have nothing to do with the deaths and injuries of youngsters that others have associated with them. Part of the problem has been that such concoctions as Monster Energy and Rockstar Energy were sold as dietary supplements, thus avoiding some restrictions from the FDA.

Now the two drinks that have been the subject of public outcry in recent years have switched over to labelling their products as “beverages” rather than “dietary supplements,” according to allgov.com. This new designation allows the companies to not reveal to the FDA “any deaths or ailments associated with the products,” the site reports.Continue reading...

Makers of energy drinks may face mounting scrutiny after federal data revealed more American youths are landing in the emergency room due to complications doctors tie to overuse of the beverages.

From 2007 to 2011, the number of emergency hospital visits involving the highly caffeinated energy drinks doubled — from 10,068 to 20,783, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.  

Marketers have succeeded wildly in recent years at selling the drinks to teenagers as physical and mental boosters. Red Bull claims to "give you wings," while Monster Energy boasts of a "killer energy brew." All told, the drinks — which comprise the fastest-growing sector in the beverage industry — brought $10 billion in sales in 2012.

While the number of young patients increased the most, the highest percentage of increase in emergency room visits attributed to the beverages was found in patients age 40 and over.  The older patients went from 1,382 related visits in 2007 to 5,233 visits in 2011 — a 279 percent increase, the study said.Continue reading...

Competition from huge and established beverage brands hasn't been able to dent 5-Hour Energy's dominance in the energy-shot segment it created. And criticism of its elixirs by nutritionists and dietitians hasn't been able to slow its sales past the $1-billion-a-year mark.

But here's something that might take a bit of fizz out of 5-Hour Energy: The drinks have been cited in the deaths of 13 people in the last four years, according to reports received by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. The New York Times reported, "Since 2009, 5-Hour Energy has been mentioned in some 90 filings with the FDA, including more than 30 that involved serious or life-threatening injuries like heart attacks, convulsions and, in one case, a spontaneous abortion."

The energy shot made by a suburban-Detroit-based company, Living Essentials, has been associated with 92 "adverse-event reports" over that period, including 32 hospitalizations, an FDA spokeswoman told a number of publications. The death reports comprise open cases being investigated by the agency. The FDA stressed that there is no evidence linking the 5-Hour Energy brand to the deaths or hospitalizations, but that the agency continues to investigate the reports.

5-Hour Energy spokeswoman Elaine Lutz said in a statement that 5-Hour Energy takes "reports of any potential adverse event tied to our products very seriously" and that the company complied "with all of our reporting requirements" to the FDA. She also noted that the shots are intended for "busy adults" and that 5-Hour Energy is an effective dietary supplement and not a beverage or energy drink.Continue reading...

More than 8 million YouTube viewers watched daredevil Felix Baumgartner plummet at the speed of sound from 24 miles above Earth to a lonely spot in New Mexico. And you can bet that every one of them – along with the zillions of others who watched or read about it after the fact – noticed the Red Bull logo plastered on his spacesuit thanks to the company’s major financial investment in making the space drop occur. 

It was a giant step (literally) for sports sponsorships, one that likely inspired more than a few of those watching at home to sample the brand. And now Red Bull is offering up a few more flavors to help folks feel a rush of their own (though not as likely as powerful as the one Baumgartner felt). However, if consumers want to have a taste of the new flavor and can’t wait till next spring when they are released on a wider scale, they’ll have to go to a 7-Eleven.

The convenience store chain has signed a deal to become the sole distributor of Red Bull’s first three flavor extensions, through the end of the year. The drinks, in red, silver and blue cans, will “provide the same energy and functional benefits of the original, but with the taste of sweet cranberry, fresh lime and fruity blueberry.”Continue reading...

When there's already a Lego parody of your extreme marketing stunt, it's safe to say that pretty much the entire planet now knows the name Felix Baumgartner, thanks to the 43-year-old Austrian skydiver's record-breaking supersonic freefall, 24 miles out of the sky, straight down to New Mexico. He made breaking the sound barrier look so easy that he landed on his feet, and you nearly expected him to land right into a moving convertible (or one of those Red Bull Mini Coopers), James Bond style. 

His main benefactor since 1988, Red Bull, deserves to milk the historic feat for all its worth for some time. After all, the whole thing came about from Red Bull Stratos, a challenge put forth by the brand back in 2005 that nobody could beat the standing world record. Well, Baumgartner did — so what does Red Bull do now? And how much does the brand stand to reap on what one observer calls "the greatest marketing stunt of all time" after financing the research, training, team, equipment and PR?Continue reading...

As the Red Bull press release states, "Mission Accomplished."

About 7.3 milion people were watching Sunday as Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner reattempted and nailed the Red Bull Stratos extreme skyjump, freefalling more than 128,000 feet to Earth at 1,342.8 kilometers per hour. He broke the sound barrier but no bones, and garnered congratulatory tweets from NASA and fellow daredevil Richard Branson, and an amusing tribute from Nestle's KitKat. (Update: YouTube reported more than 8 million concurrent livestreams, smashing all previous records, resulting in about 12.6 million viewers including Discovery Channel.)

Red Bull summed up its record-breaking, and latest, extreme sports stunt:Continue reading...

Can Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner break the sound barrier by falling from the edge of space? That is the question on everyone's mind as Baumgartner, backed by Red Bull, attempts to become the first human to break the sound barrier unaided by a vehicle.

In a huge leap (literally) for science and brand sponsorships, Red Bull is funding the historic attempt that will see Baumgartner jump out of a balloon above Roswell, New Mexico. He plans to the jump from a height of over 120,000 feet, and will be free-falling towards earth at an estimated 700mph, as soon as the high winds let him actually make the jump. Watch for updates on Twitter and live here. (Update: Today's mission was cancelled "due to strong winds" and has been rescheduled for Oct. 14.)

Like Baumgartner, the execs at Red Bull like to help folks break boundaries. Whether it is helping a few people rave into the wee hours, funding the creation of one of the most incredible Rube Goldberg-esque bits of tomfoolery ever, expanding its flavor menu or funding a daredevil's plunge nearly 23 miles to Earth, Red Bull seems game for, well, pretty much anything.Continue reading...