Tags
ads, culligan, electrolytes, gatorade, glaceau, integrity, jennifer aniston, marketing, replenish, shady, smartwater, sweating, tom brady, tonio loewald
Recently, a yogi friend noted my smartwater bottle and asked why I drink it. I explained my reasoning (see above) to which he replied, “You know, the electrolytes are added for taste.” Really? Electrolytes for taste? Well, even better! My water tastes good AND restores my ionic imbalance! My friend continued, with different emphasis, “No, they are only added for taste.” What my friend was saying is that the amount of electrolytes in smartwater is not optimal for re-hydration.
Being a blogger with integrity, I decided to do some research and I asked glacéau directly about their product. I’m not a scientist, and electrolyte “numbers” would really mean moot to me, so via their storefront question form, I asked if smartwater was comparable to sports drinks such as Gatorade, which are formulated for re-hydration via electrolytes. This was the response I got:
“dear Clare,
thank you for your interest in smartwater®.
smartwater contains electrolytes in the form of calcium chloride, magnesium
chloride and potassium bicarbonate. these electrolytes are added for taste.
the quantitative content of each electrolyte is proprietary information.”
hydro = water. logic = smart. smartwater.
Note, these electrolytes are added for taste. I was offered no further information regarding hydration benefits. So I tried again:
“Thanks for your response. So what I’m understanding is that smartwater doesn’t have hydration benefits over “normal” water?”
What is smart about it then? I’m not trying to be snarky. I thought I was buying this for the electrolyte replenishment but now I’m confused. –Clare
And….silence. As I waited for a response, I discussed my findings with Nathan, who sent me a great resource via another blogger who asked the same questions. In his smartwater research, Tonio Loewald also found that evidence for smartwater’s case fell short, but upon contacting glacéau, he seemed to receive the “proprietary information” that was withheld to me. Loewald wrote,
“I contacted Glacéau directly and received the following information from Glacéau customer relations:
we add a unique and purposeful combination of electrolytes to smartwater®. one liter of smartwater® contains 10mg of potassium, 10mg of calcium, and 15mg of magnesium.
By contrast, Gatorade contains 440mg of sodium and 120mg of potassium per liter. Evian contains 78mg of calcium, 24mg of magnesium, and 4mg of sodium, but makes no claims about electrolytes. Indeed, from what I can tell, smartwater contains less in the way of electrolytes than most typical mineral or spring waters you might buy, and probably less than your tap water.”
I’ve gotta hand it to the smartwater folks. They duped this stupe! So let’s all raise our fancy smartwater bottle in a toast! Here’s to years of money blowing plastic wasting idiocy. I was purchasing this product for what it is labeled as right on the bottle…electrolyte enhanced water, wrongly assuming that, hey, if they are advertising this as an electrolyte drink…it must be beneficial for electrolyte replenishment. CONSUMER FAIL.
Hell, even their ad campaign with Tom Brady (who is totally respectable and didn’t cheat on Bridget Moynahan when she was pregnant with his son, I’m just sayin’) advertises this as an electrolyte drink!
"electrolyte enhanced hydration. vapor distilled purity. the answer for tom brady."
"electrolyte enhanced hydration. vapor distilled purity. a jump on the competition."
"electrolytes: remember, you don't work for them. they work for you." Actually Tom, I DO work to buy your stupid water, and the electrolytes apparently do NOT work for me.
And even the wholesome, loveable romantic comedy queen and fellow yogi Jennifer Aniston has been probably paid gazillions of dollars for touting smartwater. At least Aniston’s ads aren’t misleading about the electrolyte benefits. Although they may be misleading regarding the apparent sexual benefits of smartwater.
This one says, “The water with all the answers.” Question: “Why is she naked in this ad?”
Smart marketing. And I feel pretty stupid for falling for it.
In smartwater’s defense, it does taste good, and it is “purified.” But unless they change their shady marketing or add some hydration beneficial electrolytes, I’m smartening up and keeping my Kleen Kanteen filled with reverse osmosis Culligan water.
More blogger integrity: I sent this entire article to smartwater pre-publish and waited almost 2 weeks for a “rebuttal,” but…they were too busy staring at Jennifer Aniston naked working on sneaky marketing to bother with a response.
Have you been duped by a “smart” marketing campaign?
Great post, Clare! Way to stick it to the man…”the man” being possibly disreputable water companies. And why IS Jennifer Aniston naked? A good question…
Seriously, though, I’m really impressed that you’d contact the company about this. I’m too laidback/apathetic/lazy and would probably have just shrugged your yogi friend’s words off. Thanks for investigating!
Wow, that is crazy!! I’m more like Betherann – I probably wouldn’t have taken the time or the thought to investigate. I didn’t buy smart water before, but now I definitely won’t. I usually stick with tap.
I only drink regular water, so I haven’t quite fallen prey to this specific ploy. However, who hasn’t bought into something like this in the past? People are paid big bucks to convince us that we need something that we probably already have.
I’m kind of like you in that if something is really bothering me/making me curious, I write the company to find out. I think the response, or lack thereof, says a lot about the kind of people you’re dealing with and totally influences my buying decisions in the future. You go, Clare!
Nice work! It is amazing how very little meaning there is behind product descriptions. Classic: “Fat free!” often equals “Sugar packed!” My favorite is, “Good source of fiber!” that I found on a box of sugary kids’ cereal. There were two whole grams of fiber in every serving.
I always thought if I get enough minerals from my diet, I don’t need to worry about consuming drinks that replenish electrolytes. Am I wrong about this?
Hey Cheri,
I’m not sure about the minerals thing. I think it depends on how many electrolytes you are “naturally” expending. A general healthy diet might not be enough replenish a super hard cardio sweat on a 90* day or an hour-long 105* yoga class. And eating doesn’t necessarily mean the body is absorbing. I’m not sure, its a good question.
Haha, those tricky marketing strategists…Don’t feel stupid. These companies have a way with deceiving their customers, and everyone falls for it…how can we not, when they market their product with seemingly sound and scientific evidence? we as consumers of mass products just don’t have the time to research on each claim.
Goodness me thanks for this post I been drinking it like a fool too even though my bf told me it was total bs to buy it ughh! Not buying it anymore thats for sure
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This is a great post – I bought my 1st bottle of Smartwater today & I couldn’t figure out what “electrolytes added for taste” meant. I mean, what does an electrolyte taste like? On a better note, it looks like Glaceau has changed its packaging at least because “electrolytes” is only ever printed right before “added for taste” on this bottle.
I’m just like Beau here… well, almost. I started drinking smartwater this summer because where I work has no air-conditioning and it gets to be upwards of 125 degrees, therefore I know I’m sweating out all of my electrolytes and I’ve been feeling horrible. But luckily (or un-luckily) I stumbled upon smartwater a few weeks ago while looking for something better than gatorade. Thinking just like Clare, I thought I was doing the smart thing, drinking water that’s good for me with the extra hydration… then I started reading the bottle…. “added for TASTE?” What the hell does an electrolyte taste like? Sodium, I thought… So I googled it and got your blog. Thank YOU!!! I will NOT be buying SmartWater anymore!
thank you, thank you for posting this..it’s all about the electrolytes for me. i was about to fall prey to the smartwater!
I think any beverage in a plastic bottle isn’t a smart choice for the environment as a daily habit. I appreciate your post and the information regarding the electrolyte content. I haven’t posed naked with it but I do like and endorse Smart Water (no monetary kickback unfortunately, just good taste and better digestion). I like that the ratio of magnesium is higher than in most other commercial waters. It may be closer to “natural spring” water electrolyte content than tap water but it isn’t a “sports drink” nor is it labeled that way. The Glaceau brand offers “Vitamin Water” flavors that have electrolyte content closer to traditional sports drinks and they include more magnesium than most other brands. Gatorade had sodium and potassium but didn’t have magnesium which is also lost in sweat. Acute magnesium deficiency can cause sudden death from stroke. The Smart Water is simply well balanced water and is easier on the body’s nutrient supplies than distilled water even.
Anything going in the digestive system has to be made safe in the sturdier stomach before it is allowed into the intestines. Acidic beverages draw on magnesium and calcium reserves to make it safer for the more alkaline intestines but distilled water would also need to draw on nutrient reserves a bit – we are more like the ocean than a fresh water lake. Tums and Rolaids are calcium buffers but our bodies would prefer more magnesium for that job. In the 1920′s the US Pure Water Act was passed regarding bottled water regulations and magnesium was not included as a necessary electrolyte even though it is found naturally in ground water. It was probably done with good intentions about “Pureness” but more magnesium in ground water is associated with fewer heart attacks. The Glaceau brand brought magnesium back into bottled beverages and is setting standards that American consumers haven’t had previously.
Choosing any filtered tap water in a reusable container would be better for the environment than any bottled water. Have a handful of salty nuts and an apple along with it and all four electrolytes, magnesium, calcium, sodium, potassium and water will be replenished with the bonus of other nutrients. I occasionally buy a Smart Water, no aspartame and other additives is part of the attraction, however usually I fill my stainless steel water bottle at home with filtered tap water and my purse tends to have an apple and can of mixed nuts as part of the standard load. I do endorse Smart Water on my blogspot GingerJens dot com but I hadn’t seen any of the advertising before visiting your blog – thanks. Maybe the company was going for an “au naturale – pure (and nude) as the day you were born” image with the photo of Jennifer Aniston – a wet T-shirt contest look might have been fun.
I have more about hydration in my blog Electrolytes-R-Us and also in a review of a 5K mud run “The Suicide Mud Plunge was a Blast”. Good hydration helps everything in the body work better, longer, and harder.
Oh and what do I think “electrolyte” tastes like – not just sodium but actually the magnesium alkalinity adds a softening effect, a lack of taste that is refreshing in a less tangy way than from acidic beverages. If you think about it they leave you puckered up and parched – not really much less thirsty. Water softening adds about 110 mg of sodium per liter when it removes the “hard” trace minerals, calcium and magnesium – tap water isn’t really pure either. Grab an apple or a cantaloupe for water with a nutrient boost. (My puppy didn’t really like the Smart Water better than the filtered tap water – she has become my official taste-tester, there have been a few kitchen failures.) Sorry for the ramble, it was nice to not have “0 characters” flashing at me.
Thank you for this post… I was suspicious, but everything else I’ve found has talked about the benefits, and I may have fallen for it had I not found this. THANKS.