The Protein Water Scam: Kellog's Special K2O Can Do Anything!

Will Chen — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 10:23:43 +0000

According to a recent ad for Kellog's Special K2O protein water: "Losing up to 6 lbs in 2 weeks just got easier!"

This extraordinary claim caught the attention of the consumer advocates at Mouseprint.com. They point us to the fine print at the bottom of the ad:

*Average weight loss when replacing meals with two cereal meals is 5 pounds. Weight loss may vary.

In other words, your can lose 5 pounds only if you replace two of your meals with cereal. The protein water has little, if anything, to do with the actual weight loss.

With this kind of logic there is really nothing the K2O can't do. Imagine these possibilities:

Kellog's K2O: Lowering your cholesterol up to 25 mg/dl in two weeks just got easier! (*Average decrease in cholesterol level when training for an ironman triathlon is 25 mg/dl.)

Kellog's K2O: Increasing your SAT scores by up to 400 points just got easier! (*Average increase in SAT scores when attending special review courses taught by Stephen Hawkings is 380 points.)

What exactly is in this wonderful elixir? The nutritional label reveals that K2O is little more than regular water, sugar, whey protein, and calcium mixed together. It is less nutritious than a glass of low fat milk.

The K2O's suggested retail price is $1.49 per bottle. That is kind of expensive. But I guess it is all worth it if it raises my SAT scores.

Here's the ad. The fine print is at the lower left-hand corner. Click here for the larger version.

Written by Will Chen and published on Wise Bread. Read more articles from Wise Bread.

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The Protein Water Scam: Kellog's Special K2O Can Do Anything!