Power Balance is a company that manufactures bracelets and pendants with embedded hologram stickers. They say that the hologram stores frequency that reacts with your body’s electrical system and has a positive effect on your body’s electrical system, improving your strength, balance and flexibility. This is backed up by testimonials from paid celebrity endorsements, not from published scientific or medical studies.
That is why they are now required by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to publish a corrective advertisement in Australian media.
Here is the statement published on their website in Australia:
In our advertising we stated that Power Balance wristbands improved your strength, balance and flexibility.
This Corrective Notice has been paid for by Power Balance Australia Pty Ltd and placed pursuant to an undertaking to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission given under section 87B of the Trade Practices Act, 1974.
We admit that there is no credible scientific evidence that supports our claims and therefore we engaged in misleading conduct in breach of s52 of the Trade Practices Act 1974.
To obtain a refund please visit our website www.powerbalance.com.au or contact us toll-free on 1800 733 436
This offer will be available until 30th June 2011. To be eligible for a refund, together with return postage, you will need to return a genuine Power Balance product along with proof of purchase (including credit card records, store barcodes and receipts) from an authorised reseller in Australia.
If you feel you have been misled by our promotions, we wish to unreservedly apologise and offer a full refund.
Now here’s a statement published on their US website:
"Power Balance stands by our products," said Keith Kato, President of Power Balance, LLC. "Millions of people around the globe are wearing Power Balance products and are thrilled with the results. Dozens of high profile professional athletes swear by the results they've experienced from wearing our products." CNBC recently named Power Balance as the "Sports Product of the Year for 2010." Our bracelet was also one of Amazon's 'Top 5 Best Sellers' during the recent holiday shopping season. We are the clear leader in the market for performance technology accessories and we owe it all to our customers who wear and believe in the product.
Power Balance believes and wants users to believe that we will do whatever it takes to appropriately, and with honor and integrity, make our products available to every consumer around the world
That said, there has been some negative press about our products coming out of Australia recently, followed by a class action law suit filed here in the US based on those misstatements, and we wanted to set the record straight.
"The mission of Power Balance has always been to develop and deliver quality products that enhance people's lives," said Kato. "Our products are based on the idea of optimizing the body's natural energy flow, similar to concepts behind many holistic and Eastern philosophies. Frankly, we know there will always be critics of new technologies, but our products are used by those with open minds who experience real results. Our company is absolutely committed to further evaluating the technology behind its products' performance so that we can continue to offer products that enhance people's lifestyle."
Contrary to recent assertions in the Australian press, Power Balance has made no claims that our product does not perform. This is simply untrue. Apparently, some previous claims in our marketing ads in Australia were not up to ACCC standards. Changes were voluntarily made immediately, approved and the issues were believed to have been resolved. We were obviously surprised to see the recent press coming out of Australia followed by a class action law suit here in the United States.
In October 2010, Power Balance was featured on ESPN’s Outside The Lines. In this video, a study was conducted at The University of Wisconsin at La Crosse to find out if a $30 Power Balance bracelet could really improve an athlete’s performance.
Now you can wear a 30 cent bracelet and get the same effect. [Power Balance CA, Power Balance US, Wikipedia, ESPN - OTL, Gizmodo]
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