Naked Juice - a small yet important choice

I was scrolling through Instagram taking a break from homework and saw a sponsored ad for Naked Juice. I used to scroll past these sponsored ads as fast as I could, and still do if it doesn’t catch my attention within the first 4 seconds, but I discovered it is a great source of content. Through these sponsored ads I occasionally find some pretty good content like this Naked Juice video.

The target audience of this specific ad are those who desire to be healthier, but are not on a hard-core diet or exercise plan. The video highlights young adults making a small decision: choosing the stairs over the escalator. The makers of the ad validate this decision when the person reaches the top and are welcomed with a live marching band and a Naked Juice. They sum it up with “It doesn’t matter where you are on your health journey…it just matters that YOU’RE ON IT.” The ad empowers its audience to make these small decisions that will lead to big health changes, and choosing Naked Juice can be one of these small choices.

I was very engaged with this ad and I liked how it looked like they were filming everyday people.

You saw the actors’ thought processes when they chose the stairs over the escalator. I care about my health but do not have a regular work-out routine nor a strict diet. I feel empowered knowing that small decisions in my day-to-day life like choosing the stairs can help me reach a larger goal. However, I am not any more inclined to buy a Naked Juice due to how much sugar is in one drink. I feel more empowered to make my own smoothie to be healthier which is not the goal of the video. When I further interacted with the brand by reading the Instagram comments on the video, this idea was validated. Many people commented about the large sugar amount and how the ingredients are not actually that healthy Someone related Naked Juice to the reason there is a diabetes and obesity epidemic in America, and another commented it would have been healthier for the person to choose the escalator and no Naked Juice. The ingredients aside, others

commented how much they enjoyed the ad and how it was made.

I overall enjoyed the ad but would not choose the drink in my effort to be healthier. Rather, I would choose a tasty one as a treat. I would share this experience with a friend but in this context. Odwalla, Naked Juice’s competitor with very similar products, is offered in the Lair at school. After a good work-out, my friend and I would treat ourselves to an Odwalla, but not because it was healthy. We wanted to reward ourselves for going to the gym, a healthy decision, with something a little less healthy.

I have learned to look deeper than the ad’s content to see how healthy a product is. I understand why Naked Juice wants to portray itself as a healthy fruit juice and I bet many believe it to due this ad. But on the other hand, I feel deceived. I want to choose Naked Juice as a healthy option but not after researching how much sugar it contains.

The attached video from Youtube is not the exact video on Instagram I analyzed, but is very similar.