Twelve seconds into a montage of play by play announcing accompanied by visuals of fans with agony on their faces, the words “Heart attack risk can more than double when your home team plays.” This is followed by another 11 seconds of a montage of sports fans’ faces changing out against the backdrop of intense sports calls with an increasing heartbeat sound in the background. Then a final heartbeat sound and a blank screen with white letters “Keep your heart in the game” and then “checkyourheartrisks.com” underscored with a slow heartbeat, tagged by an announcer saying “Bayer Aspirin Official Sponsor of Fan’s Hearts.” That’s the commercial that Bayer thinks is a fan friendly education for all.
The press release Bayer put out reads: “In recognition of American Heart Month, Bayer is continuing its ongoing commitment to elevating awareness and education about heart health and risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S. for men and women and continues to increase, due in part to the often-invisible risk factors — 1 in 5 heart attacks occur with no recognizable signs or warning. But stress, like the heart-pounding moments fans may experience while watching their favorite teams play, can play a role in their cardiovascular risk, especially when other pre-existing risk factors are present. In fact, heart attack risk can more than double when your home team plays.”
“It doesn’t matter what sport, league, or team you cheer for every fan has experienced heart-pounding moments when watching their team play,” said Kelly Fanning, General Manager & Vice President of Pain and Cardio at Bayer Consumer Health U.S. “While that feeling may seem trivial, the stress that comes from those heart-pounding moments, along with other risk factors, may increase your cardiovascular risk. As a leader in heart health, we wanted to find an impactful new way to reach and educate people who may be at increased cardiovascular risk without even realizing it. By kicking off American Heart Month with our new role as Official Sponsor of Fans’ Hearts, we’re tapping into a relatable moment and encouraging fans to assess their cardiovascular risk factors and take action so they can Keep Their Hearts in the Game.”
Clever for Bayer. We all should be aware of our heart health. But to do such a self-serving release as an “Official Sponsor of Your Heart” is a bit presumptive. It also appears that a pharma company is once again overreaching by fear-mongering to the point where we are not supposed to even enjoy a sporting event without fear of killing ourselves. Take a Bayer aspirin, watch the game, and live, really? If they get even one percent of the tens of millions of people that root for their favorite teams from youth to pro, whatever the sport, think of how much money Bayer will make. Psalm 73:26 says, “My flesh and my heart fails, but God is the strength of my hear, and my portion forever.” Not Bayer (sounds like Ba’al), but God is the sponsor of my heart. Anything less is, say it with me…Stupidocrisy.
Sources:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230206005102/en/Bayer®-Aspirin-Continues-Long-standing-Commitment-to-Heart-Health-Education-Encouraging-Sports-Fans-to-Keep-Their-Heart-in-the-Game-as-the-Official-Sponsor-of-Fans’-Hearts
