Power Balance

Power Balance is the original brand of hologram bracelets claimed by its manufacturers and vendors to use "holographic technology" to "resonate with and respond to the natural energy field of the body" to increase athletic performance.^[1] Numerous independent studies of the device have found it to be no more effective than a placebo for enhancing athletic performance.^[2][3][4] As a result, in 2010, the Australian distributor, Power Balance Australia Pty. Ltd., was forced by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to retract any previous claims.^[5]

The product was originally promoted at trade shows in the beginning of 2006 using applied kinesiology as its effective sales tool. The bracelets went on sale in 2007 and had several celebrity endorsements.^[6] The bracelets became a trend among high school, collegiate, and professional sports teams between 2008 and 2012. This sustained prevalence compelled journalist Darren Rovell to remark that "a growing number of professional sportsmen and their attendants are starting to sound like New Age crystal healers."^[7] CNBC Sports named Power Balance Product of the Year in 2010 for its strong sales and celebrity endorsements.^[8]

Power Balance headquarters, which was located in Laguna Niguel, California, at the time, denied that they made any medical or scientific claims about their products.^[9] However, the company had been the focus of significant criticism, particularly for false advertising. The Power Balance bracelet has been described as "like the tooth fairy"^[10] and a "very successful marketing scam".^[11] Dylan Evans, a lecturer in behavioral science at Cork University's School of Medicine, stated that the marketing of Power Balance has "managed to get away without deceiving anyone in the sense of an overt lie. There are no claims on the packaging itself. They don't make any reference at all to any health outcomes. They leave that as an inference that most people will draw."^[12]

By the end of 2011, the company was reported to be approaching bankruptcy after allegedly having to settle a $57 million lawsuit, in the course of which company executives acknowledged that their past claims to improve strength and balance were not backed by science.^[13] It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on November 22, 2011,^[13] due to a multitude of lawsuits. As of September 2022^[update], the brand has been transferred to a new company, Power Balance Technologies, which still sells Power Balance bands and other items ^{[14][non-primary source needed]}