Professional Athletes are blessed and burdened with celebrity status, which means they also act as role models. That kind of spotlight attracts big corporations who want to use a popular athlete’s name, face, and voice to market products to a bigger audience.

LeBron James, Peyton Manning, and Serena Williams are media superstars in their respective sports, and they have the corporate endorsements to prove it. Children with dreams of becoming Professional Athletes look up to these superstar athletes and their teams. When a professional athlete decides to become the face of a Food and beverage company, they need to realize that adults are not the only target demographic for these companies.

Manning has contracts with Papa John’s, Oreo, and Gatorade. James holds a multi-million dollar contract with McDonald’s. James also endorses Sprite and recently introduced a LeBron Mix soda.

According to research, children between the ages of 12 and 17 are the demographic most exposed to soft drinks, sports drinks, and fast food advertising. The results of this group being exposed to unhealthy food ads was best represented in a 2013 study by World Health Organization. They concluded that 80 percent of US teens are in danger of developing heart disease as a result of a high sugar, salt, and fat diets.

With fit athletes representing salty, greasy foods and sugar-filled drinks, the public that idealizes these athletes is being somewhat misled. In the real world, eating fast food and drinking sugary drinks leads to obesity and disease, not to winning Super Bowls and Grand Slams.

Food and beverage companies offer millions of dollars to professional athletes for their endorsements, so the temptations for athletes are high. Who wouldn’t think about taking an offer to stand in front of a camera and say that Sprite tastes great for millions of dollars?

However, North America’s youth is paying the price of corporate marketing with their health. Child obesity is a growing problem and one that needs to be addressed; we need to focus on what children watch and how it affects their eating patterns.

Celebrities wouldn’t promote the use of tobacco given the potential PR nightmare it would stir. Should they be held up to the same standard when endorsing junk food? Share your thoughts.

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Filed under: Campaign Tagged: athletes, endorsements, junk food, role models, sports, Sports PR