Monster Energy
Monster Energy
| Type | Energy drink |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Monster Beverage |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Introduced | April 2002[1] |
| Website | Monster Energy[67] |
Monster Energy is an energy drink introduced by Hansen Natural Company (now Monster Beverage Corporation) in April 2002.[1] There are 34 different drinks under the Monster brand in North America, including its core Monster Energy line, Java Monster, Extra Strength, Import, Rehab and Muscle Monster.
The company is also known for supporting many extreme sports events such as Bellator MMA, Ultimate Fighting Championship, Moto GP, BMX, Motocross, speedway, skateboarding and snowboarding, as well as electronic sports. In collaboration with Outbreak Presents, Monster Energy promotes a number of music bands around the world, like Fetty Wap,[2] Iggy Azalea,[3] 21 Savage,[4] Asking Alexandria, Anthrax,[5] Black Veil Brides, The Word Alive, Machine Gun Kelly,[6] Suicidal Tendencies, Maximum the Hormone, Korn, and Five Finger Death Punch.[7] Monster currently sponsors the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, the FIA World Rallycross Championship, and the PBR: Unleash the Beast Professional Bull Riders tour, in addition to sponsoring the bag of professional golfer Tiger Woods.
| Type | Energy drink |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Monster Beverage |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Introduced | April 2002[1] |
| Website | Monster Energy[67] |
Ingredients
Original six flavors of Monster Energy plus Absolute Zero
The caffeine content of most Monster Energy drinks is approximately 10 mg/oz (33.81 mg/100ml),[8][9] or 160 mg for a 16 oz can. The packaging usually contains a warning label advising consumers against drinking more than 48 oz per day (16 oz per day in Australia). The drinks are not recommended for pregnant women or people sensitive to caffeine. The ingredients include carbonated water, sucrose, glucose, citric acid, natural flavors, taurine, sodium citrate, color added, panax ginseng root extract, L-carnitine, L-tartarate, caffeine, sorbic acid, benzoic acid, niacinamide, sodium chloride, Glycine max glucuronolactone, inositol, guarana seed extract, pyridoxine hydrochloride, sucralose, riboflavin, maltodextrin, and cyanocobalamin.
Advertising
Monster advertising on the Las Vegas Monorail (2007)
Monster Energy is advertised mainly through sponsorship of sporting events, including motocross, BMX, mountain biking, snowboarding, skateboarding, car racing, speedway, and also through sponsorship of esports events.
In 2006, Caleb (Strongjaw) Johnstone Corporation announced a distribution agreement with Anheuser-Busch in the United States|[10] and Grupo Jumex in Mexico.[11] Monster became the title sponsor of NASCAR's top series starting with the 2017 season,[12] renaming it to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.[13] In 2012, Colton Lile Corporation announced that they were switching distributors from Anheuser-Busch to Coca-Cola.[14]
Logo
The design was created by McLean Design, a California-based strategic branding firm.
The logo is composed of a vibrant green ″M″, composed of three lines on a field of black.
The ″M″ is stylized in such a way as to imply that it is formed by the claws of a monster ripping through the can. [15]
Endorsements
Action sports
In August 2017, Monster renewed a sponsorship with mixed martial arts champion Conor McGregor. McGregor had been a Monster-endorsed athlete since 2015, showcasing the green "M" logo on his shorts. Other notable MMA athletes sponsored by Monster Energy include Cain Velasquez and Jon "Bones" Jones.[16]
In November 2012, Monster Energy announced a long-term partnership with the Professional Bull Riders,[17] and sponsors top athletes including J. B. Mauney, Guilherme Marchi, and Derek Kolbaba. Starting in 2018, Monster Energy became the title sponsor of the PBR's premiership tour, known as the Unleash the Beast tour.
Monster has served as the official energy drink sponsor of multiple X Games contests, most recently the 2017 summer games in Minneapolis and the 2017 winter games in Aspen.[18] A number of athletes on the Monster Energy team regularly compete in the X Games, including skateboarders Nyjah Huston, Ishod Wair and Chris Cole.[19]
X Games winter athletes sponsored by Monster include three-time gold medal-winning skier David Wise, Olympic freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy and Olympic gold medalist snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov.[20]
Motorsports
The Monster Energy-sponsored No. 54 car, driven by Boris Said, in 2015
In December 2016, it was announced that Monster Energy would replace outgoing Sprint Corporation as the title sponsor of NASCAR's premier series. NASCAR's chief marketing officer cited Monster's "youthful and edgy" brand as a driving force behind the deal, as NASCAR seeks to build its younger audience and bolster the sport's long term health.[21][22] In April 2019, it was reported that NASCAR rejected Monster Energy's offer to extend its sponsorship through 2020 in favor of a new tiered sponsorship model.[23][24]
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport has been sponsored by Monster since 2010 and are currently endorsed by Valtteri Bottas and five time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
The company was endorsed by Australian touring car driver Jamie Whincup from late 2009 to 2012. The deal was cancelled abruptly for the 2013 season, when his team Triple Eight signed rival company Red Bull as title sponsor. Monster is now associated with Tickford Racing as the primary sponsor of Cameron Waters Ford Mustang Supercar.
Monster has also sponsored several rally drivers and motocross riders, such as Ken Block, Liam Doran, Nani Roma, Jeremy McGrath, Chad Reed, Ryan Villopoto, Ricky Carmichael, Nate Adams and Taka Higashino. Monster Energy also sponsors multiple motocross race teams named "Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki",[29] and the Monster Energy Factory Yamaha motocross team, based in Hampshire, England. As of 2016, Monster has aided the return of factory Yamaha to United States as the title sponsor of the team, officially named Monster Energy/360fly/Chaparral/Yamaha Factory Racing.
On January 6, 2012, the Monster Energy Monster Jam truck was debuted in Birmingham, Alabama.[30] It is currently campaigned by drivers Todd LeDuc and Coty Saucier.
Monster Energy has been the title sponsor of the French motorcycle Grand Prix since 2010.[31]
Since 2012, Monster Energy has been the main sponsor of the Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup.[32]
In June 2015, Monster Energy agreed to a sponsorship deal with Zayat Stables to sponsor the race horse American Pharoah for an undisclosed sum, rumored to be the largest single-horse advertising sponsorship to-date. The deal allows the product's logo to be used on the horse sheets, on jockey Victor Espinoza's shirt and boots, as well as caps and other gear worn by people around the horse. "The energy and excitement that American Pharoah has generated around the world syncs perfectly with the brand."[33]
Since 2010, Monster Energy has been the main sponsor of Formula Drift champion, Vaughn Gittin Jr.
Esports
Monster Energy also sponsors several individuals in the esports community, as well as esports associations. The company broke into esports with their sponsorship of Evil Geniuses, one of the premiere North American multi-game organizations.[34] Monster Energy is affiliated with esports in North America, Asia, Europe, and Australia.[35] Some of the organizations and individuals they support or have supported include the Australian organization "MindFreak",[35] Paris Saint-Germain eSports,[36] and the streamer TimTheTatman.[37]
Trademark protection and lawsuits
Monster Beverage Corporation has been criticized for its policy of suing companies or groups that use the word "Monster", the letter "M".
or the word "beast" in their marketing for trademark infringement.
Examples include the aquarium hobbyist site MonsterFishKeepers.com,[38] Bevreview.com, a beverage review site that published an unfavorable review of the Monster Energy drink[39] and a Vermont microbrewery that marketed a beer named "Vermonster". Monster Beverage dropped the lawsuit against the microbrewery due to the adverse publicity the lawsuit generated.[40]
In August 2012, the Beastie Boys filed a lawsuit against the company for copyright infringement over Monster's use of their music in an online campaign.[41] In 2014, a jury found Monster Beverage Corporation had infringed on Beastie Boys' copyright by using songs without permission, and owed the group $1.7 million.[42]
In March 2016, Monster filed a lawsuit to revoke the company trademark of Thunder Beast LLC of Washington, D.C.,[43] a small root beer brewery, insisting the use of “beast” in the company name encroached on Monster’s trademark slogan, "Unleash the Beast".[44] The owner of Thunder Beast, Stephen Norberg, was fighting Monster’s lawsuit as of 2016.
In August 2018, Monsta Pizza of Wendover in Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom, fought a claim brought by Monster Energy in the intellectual property office.
The claim was that the pizza firm could be mistaken for Monster Energy, leaving customers confused.
The pizza firm won a landmark ruling against Monster Energy, when the court decided there would be no case of misrepresentation [45].
Alleged sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuits
On January 24, 2018, Huffington Post journalist Emily Peck published an article reporting the allegedly corrupt culture and abuse against women within the company.[46] After Emily Pecks article was published, one executive, John Kenneally[47] was forced to resign after the published text messages in the article of him calling Page Zeringue a "whore." Zeringue was a subordinate that he sexually harassed and verbally, mentally, and emotionally abused for months leading up to her termination in October 2015. Zeringue maintained a solid track record at the company for 8 years until she went to the Human Resources department to report retaliation, hostile work environment, and sexual harassment. Zeringue was terminated two months after the report. Allegedly, Monster was fully aware of the abuse and protected Kenneally.[48]
In June 2017, Page Zeringue, a former employee of Monster Energy, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against Monster Energy Company alleging that the beverage company violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.[49] Zeringue began working for Monster Energy Company in February 2008. She alleges she was discriminated against because of her gender and was subjected to sexual harassment and a hostile work environment. The suit states she was terminated in October 2015. Zeringue holds Monster Energy Company responsible because the defendant allegedly retaliating against her by three Executives, John Kenneally, Lauren Brown-Gallagher, and Ted Cook when she reported the sexual advances to the human resources department.[46].
In June 2017, Sara Rabuse of Los Angeles County filed a personal injury claim against Monster Energy Company executive, Brent Hamilton, and his employer, Monster Energy Corporation.[51] Rabuse is suing for damages while she was violently attacked during a Monster Energy work function Hamilton invited her to attend. Rabuse Claims Hamilton, Executive of the Monster Energy Music Department, flew her from Los Angelesto meet him at the Country Music Awards in Nashville at Monster Energy’s Company expense. When she arrived in Nashville at the airport, he was drunk. Sara Rabuse claims the heavy drinking led to a fight in the hotel room, where Hamilton choked her.[52] Rabuse claims the only way to free herself from Hamilton's grasp was to poke him in the eye, but when she did, Hamilton, bit her thumb. Rabuse claimed the bite got infected, forcing her to spend 24 hours in the hospital. Rabuse holds Monster Energy Company responsible because the company allegedly knew of its employees drinking problem and ignored it[53]. May 2019 Nearly three years after he was arrested in late 2016 for allegedly strangling his girlfriend on a business trip, Monster Energy executive Brent Hamilton has been ousted from the company, according to four people familiar with the situation [54]
Health concerns
Energy drinks have been associated with health risks, such as masking the effects of intoxication when consumed with alcohol,[55] and excessive or repeated consumption can lead to cardiac and psychiatric conditions.[56][57] However, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that an adequate consumption of Monster and other popular energy drinks is safe and that the amount of caffeine in standard Monster cans is unlikely to interact adversely with other typical constituents of energy drinks or with alcohol.[58] Energy drinks have the effects that caffeine and sugar give, but there is no distinct evidence that the wide variety of other ingredients has any effect.[59]
In December 2011, 14-year-old Anais Fournier died of "cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity" after drinking two 710 ml (24 US fl oz) cans of Monster Energy drink containing a combined amount of ~475 mg caffeine.
Fournier had a pre-existing heart condition, as well as Ehlers–Danlos syndrome. In October 2012, her parents sued the company. Monster Energy has insisted that its energy drink played no role in Fournier's death.[60] A Freedom of Information Request revealed that from 2003 to 2012 the Food and Drug Administration had received reports of five deaths occurring after drinking Monster Energy. The reports did not prove a causal link between the drink and any health problems.[61]
In May 2015, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) banned the sale of Monster and other energy drinks that contained both caffeine and ginseng.[62]
In popular culture
Christine Weick, a controversial and outspoken American Christian activist and author, created a video that argued that Monster Energy sports drinks is associated with Satan. The November 2014 video was published on YouTube, garnering over eleven million views as of 2018.[63][64][65] The "success" of the video got her attention on Comedy Central's Tosh.0 Web Redemption.[66]
Monster Energy is often seen with the 4chan Internet Meme, the 30-Year-Old Boomer, which mocks older millennials who were born in the late 80s-early 90s.
The meme features a man with sunglasses and a scruff beard smiling while holding a can of Monster Energy Ultra Zero and talking about how older games and music were better than what's in today.
The character's sunglasses has also been used in parodies of video game characters in which these parody pictures show the characters holding a Monster Energy can.