There’s big money to be made these days, especially for sports stars, in celebrity endorsements of brand name products, After all, these guys are role models for kids of all ages. So rather than touting the virtues of veggies and grass-fed steak, super athletes are most often found on Frosted Flakes boxes or in TV commercials touting the goodness of soda or some fast food concoction.
Tom Brady, famed quarterback of the New England Patriots, who last year defended himself against accusations of deflating footballs, has broken the mold! This October he opened an offense that sent the food industry into a spiral. Some headlines of the week: “Tom Brady Calls Coca-Cola Poison for Kids” (Wall Street Journal), “Tom Brady Wants to Deflate Us All in His War on Coco-Cola and Frosted Flakes” (Forbes), “Tom Brady Says Frosted Flakes and Coca-Cola Are Poison” (Time Magazine).
Apostasy! How refreshing! But, according to an indignant Kelloggs, maker of Frosted Flakes (which lists the following ingredients on its box: Milled corn, sugar, contains 2% or less malt flavor, salt, BHT for freshness):
“Cereal is a delicious and nutritious breakfast. Numerous studies show that a cereal breakfast is associated with lower BMIs (body mass index) in both children and adults. As a matter of fact, a serving of Frosted Flakes with skim milk has just 150 calories and delivers valuable nutrients including calcium, B vitamins and iron.”
Brady’s offensive play, first reported in the Washington Post, shows the super hunk actually lives what he’s talking about:
“I think when you talk about a green supplement — it’s vegetables. It’s eating better. So much of my diet is based on an acid-alkaline principle, which to me does reduce inflammation in my body. When you run around and take hits all day for a living, that’s a really positive thing for me. I would love to encourage all my teammates to eat the best way they possibly can, to have high school athletes [do the same].
…I disagree with a lot of things that people tell you to do. You’ll probably go out and drink Coca-Cola and think, “Oh yeah, that’s no problem.’ Why? Because they pay lots of money for advertisements to think that you should drink Coca-Cola for a living? No, I totally disagree with that. And when people do that, I think that’s quackery. And the fact that they can sell that to kids? I mean, that’s poison for kids. But they keep doing it. And obviously you guys may not have a comment on that because maybe that’s what your belief system is. So you do whatever you want. You live the life you want.”
If you’d like to thank Tom Brady for taking on the junk food industry, sign this letter. Let’s hope more celebs join the tackle. Will we ever come to a time when superstars’ faces appear on kale chips packages or plain whole yogurt containers? Now, thanks to Tom Brady, that dream is a teeny bit closer to reality (but don’t hold your breath).
The Balancing Act