It is one of the news of the moment within the gamer world: the streamer Ninja has become redbull image for a special launch of the drink (happening, by the way, to the very football player Neymar). Such an announcement does nothing more than demonstrate the great power of the video game streaming segment, however, there is an undercurrent in this whole story that makes the decision actually a very bad idea. We explain why.
who is ninja
Ninja is the pseudonym behind which Richard Tyler Blevins hides, a 27-year-old American boy born in Illinois who has become a worldwide celebrity. His feat of him? Being one of the streamers (this is the name given to people who broadcast video and live while they play) with the most followers in the world (more than 10 million) and with an average per broadcast of about 70.000 viewers. It is said soon.
Ninja started playing professional manner in 2009. . At that time, his obsession was halo 3, thanks to which he was part of several teams that are dedicated to this. In 2011 he made the leap into the streaming world on Justin.tv and later ended up on Twitch, the platform par excellence for this activity. He went through several more titles before falling into Fortnite. The growth in popularity of the game helped its audience to do the same, so that in just six months its followers increased by 250%.
In March of last year, he set the Twitch record for an individual stream while playing Fortnite Battle Royale with the very same singer Drake. Only a month later she broke that record again, with another new retransmission, accumulating nothing more and nothing less than 667.000 viewers live.
Finally in June 2018 he became part of the team Red Bull e-sports, which by the way completely remodeled his entire game studio -you have the video on these lines. His YouTube account is also active, with no less than 22 million followers.
New image of Red Bull cans
A couple of days ago it was announced that Ninja will become Red Bull's new look. The streamer's face will appear in a special and limited edition of energy drink cans, sold in packs of 4 and 12 units in the US. In addition to this launch, the brand offers the opportunity to win gifts and even a meeting with Ninja to meet him and play with him, through a contest.
The last time a celebrity's face appeared on Red Bull cans was in February of last year, with the appearance of the Brazilian soccer player Neymar, currently in the Paris Saint Germain team.
Although the repercussion of the streamer with this choice is more than evident, the fact that Ninja appears on Red Bull cans does not seem like the best of ideas to us for a more than obvious reason: he is a role model, a benchmark in this world, which encourages the youngest to drink a drink that is not as recommended as many think.
Already the consumption of energy drinks it is promoted a lot in championships and video game streaming sessions, where many times the brands of this type of consumables sponsor these events and give away their cans. Ninja himself is often shown drinking Red Bull on his broadcasts - obviously, he gets paid for it. The audience that follows is perfect to encourage drinking: youngsters who dream of being like him and who want to stay awake as long as possible to play better, holding the maximum and with greater concentration. The drink is even Good view and considered among teenagers, even more so if their idols also drink it regularly.
How else would we surprise @ninja with the Ninja Red Bull Can? * drone incoming* Available in the US beginning April 1. pic.twitter.com/JjerUW6aNs
- Red Bull (@redbull) March 27th 2019
The latest official data from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), they aim That the 68% of young people between 10 and 18 years old in the EU consume energy drinks. Of these, 12% have a "chronic high" consumption (they consume 4 or 5 days a week, about 4,5 liters per month) while 11% have a "high acute" consumption (drinking at least one liter of one sitting). There is an even more striking (and worrying) fact: 18% of children between 3 and 10 years old also consume them, being 16% considered of the "chronic high" consumer type, with almost 4 liters per month. Crazy.
And it is that these drinks they are not so harmless. contain a high in sugar, caffeine and taurine, among other components, whose high levels in the body increase heart rate and blood pressure and can cause anxiety; They sometimes come in really large doses (like certain brand pint cans) and have a high binding power. addiction. The safety of energy drinks has been questioned on many occasions and there are Reports that even relate their consumption with serious cardiovascular (CV) events, including arrhythmias and even sudden cardiac death in a high-risk population.
In countries like UK is being studied el ban sale of energy drinks to minors. The idea is that they cannot access drinks with more than 150 mg of caffeine per liter: a liter of Red Bull contains 320 mg. The concern about this excessive consumption and about which there is very little information is more than clear.
Exploiting Ninja as the image of Red Bull is nothing more than one more resource for the brand, which usually uses this type of reference to promote consumption and advertise itself. In the case of the streamer, he has millions of followers, many of whom are minors, posing an added risk for a population that is unaware of the negative effects of these drinks on their health and who are they drink the cans as if they were water. We urgently need to stop this.