As regular readers know, I don’t drink sugary or diet soft drinks and consider them some of the most damaging junk foods available.
A Nashville family’s rap video is the winner of a contest aimed aimed at raising awareness of the harmful health effects of overconsumption of sugary drinks. The winning video “Just Pour One Out” features an original rap song from the Sullivan family, inspired by 41-year-old stay-at-home dad Peter Sullivan’s personal struggle with soda consumption.
“I was surprised by how much the process changed my drinking habits,” Sullivan said of making the film.
Announced by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest in October 2012, the Pour One Out video contest invited the public to produce short videos demonstrating the pouring out of sugary drinks in a creative way. Advertising pioneer Alex Bogusky joined CSPI staff in judging contest entries based on creativity, originality, and effectiveness of the health message. CSPI offered a $1,000 prize for the winning film, and $500 and $250 prizes for the second- and third-place films.
The runner up video
was produced by 5th-grade students in teacher Laurel Frederick’s after-school club at Incline Elementary School in Incline Village, NV. “They calculated the amount of sugar in selected drinks and did hands-on activities to help drive the point home,” said Frederick.
Third place went to Dennis Nguyen, an IT professional from St. Metairie, LA, who worked with friends to create “One For My Boy,” drawing inspiration from childhood memories of the ubiquity of Kool-Aid advertisements in his neighborhood.
“Coke and Pepsi spend billions of dollars on television advertising and other forms of marketing, so it’s exciting to see so many budding filmmakers take to the Internet to lampoon an industry whose products promote obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other health problems,” said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson.
Here are some previous blog posts on the subject:
Why I Am Kicking the Diet Soda Habit
What’s Wrong With Drinking Diet Soda Daily?
Is It harmful to Drink Diet Soda Daily?
Oleda Baker on What’s Wrong with Drinking Soda
Lab Tests Find Carcinogens in Regular and Diet Coke and Pepsi
Diet and Exercise Tips for Prostate Help from Harvard.
Tony
Wellness Secrets of a SuperAger 