Pop musicians don’t get into the business to make great music, they get into into Pop Music because they want to get paid and become celebrities. They get paid for lip-syncing at concerts, they get paid for movie cameos and hosting awards shows, and they get paid to endorse junk food that makes you fat. That last mention of junk food might sound outlandish, but it’s true.
A new study from NYU’s Langone Medical Center tracked pop musicians and the products they endorse over the course of the past 14 years, finding that pop musicians overwhelmingly endorse junk foods, with 80% of the foods endorsed being ‘nutrient-poor, while 79 percent of beverages were sugary drinks. Unsurprisingly, not a single endorsement was for vegetables, fruits, or whole grains.’
The study reasons this: Junk food makes you fat. Pop stars endorse junk food. Therefore, listening to pop music and constantly getting hit with ads from those pop stars endorsing junk food makes people crave junk food more frequently.
Foodandwine.com reports:
Food and drink companies spend $2 billion a year on youth-targeted ads, and children and teens view between 4,700-5,900 ads a year on average, according to the study authors.
And, of course, the world’s biggest music stars have worked with big brands to promote these unhealthy foods and beverages in the past, CNN reports. Maroon 5’s Adam Levine has written songs for Coca-Cola and Snapple, Beyonce has repped Pepsi, Justin Timberlake recorded his very own “I’m Lovin’ It” jingle for McDonald’s, and Will.i.am has done advertisements for Doritos, Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper, and Pepsi.
“The popularity of music celebrities among adolescents makes them uniquely poised to serve as positive role models,” says study co-author Alysa N. Miller. “Celebrities should be aware that their endorsements could exacerbate society’s struggle with obesity, and they should endorse healthy products instead.”
Get off the pop music, bros. Phish’s Summer Tour is just days away, you can join me and a million other hippies in seeing the greatest band on Earth play amphitheaters all throughout the nation. Here’s a quick taste of what you can expect:
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(h/t FoodandWine.com)