The Biggest Winner?

The Biggest Loser has become a widely recognized television show in our ever growing, body image obsessed society.  Whether you are a health and fitness buff or an individual who is hoping to change their life, The Biggest Loser, now in its fifteenth season, has been effective in showcasing health and fitness (in a much debated light) to people worldwide.  While The Biggest Loser has been effective in raising health and fitness awareness amongst its viewers, its most prestigious accomplishment is its ability to no longer be just a show focused on its contestant’s health and weight loss journey but a brand that stands solely on its own by being fixated on product placement, advertisements, and endorsement deals.  After viewing a single episode, audience’s may have a tough time deciphering whether the show is truly about losing weight, conquering emotional baggage, or merely a ploy to use the contestants and well liked trainers as advertising agents.  While its superficial focus seems to be on creating better lives for the contestants on the show, the underlying reality is that The Biggest Loser is a brand that aims to capitalize and benefit whether the contestants loose or gain weight in the long run. 

A novice viewer may have the understanding that The Biggest Loser is truly benefiting the health and the lives of the contestants who are participate on the show.  Sure, these contestants are losing weight each week  and by the end of the season are no longer morbidly obese, but  the trainers will stop at nothing to essentially “win” the weight loss competition.  Just last week, Jillian Michaels, a veteran trainer on the show gave her team caffeine pills to enhance their energy for further exercise.  As if going from never working out to working out six to eight hours a day just wasn’t enough.  After the episode aired, a viewer tweeted at Michaels saying she was being used to bring a famous contest, Ruben Studdard, back on the show; Michaels responded by saying the viewer was “spot on” (Santos).  Whether the caffeine pill storyline was made up or exaggerated is either here nor there, caffeine pills can have ill effects on the health of anyone, no less contestants who are being weaned from food that toxifies their body.  Furthermore, the “great caffeine debate” was clearly a ploy by the production team to ensure that former American Idol winner and viewer favorite Ruben was allowed back on the ranch. 

While story lines may or may not be rigged in order to ensure maximum viewership, there is no debate that The Biggest Loser has further branded itself through product placement and endless partnerships outside of the television realm. The Biggest Loser is no longer a once weekly viewed television show but has morphed into a lifestyle brand.  Recognizing the seamless integration opportunities, brands have chosen to highlight their products on The Biggest Loser ever since the show first premiered in 2004, with SUBWAY® and Jennie-O joining the show in season 3, Brita Water Filters in season 5 and General Mills in season 7. Last season, and again this year, Planet Fitness has provided “The Biggest Loser” gym, and contestants will continue to train after their stay on the show at Planet Fitness gyms in their hometowns (Holland).  The show uses the trainers to target audience segments based on their lifestyle, values and interests by having them pitch “healthy eating tips.”  These segments occur right before commercial break but have also been staged throughout the show.  For example, Dolvett brought his team into the kitchen to give them and the audience a 30 second sales pitch about KIND protein bars before taking them on a hike.  This product integration treads the increasingly blurred line between focusing on the health and wellness factor of the show and marketing the products the show has partnerships with.  By embedding this type of advertisement, audiences are somewhat taken advantage of because of the authoritative and reputable demeanor of the trainers (Mittell).  How can you not want to run out to the store and buy whatever product the hot, ripped trainer is ensuring will aid in your weight loss?  Further capitalizing on the self-proclaimed “little show that could” The Biggest Loser has also created exercise vacation resorts.  No longer are vacations planned for rest, relaxation and spending quality time with friends and family; this vacation is marketed to promote a “balanced overall wellness strategy” through fitness, nutrition, wellness education and spa cuisine.  Mmmm…doesn’t that sound good?  All for the whopping price of three thousand dollars for the week (Biggest Loser Resorts)! There is no denying that The Biggest Loser has in fact become a phenomenon throughout our country, even altering the way that American’s spend their most intimate vacation moments.    

                While hiding under the guise of enhancing people’s lives through extreme weight loss, it is very clear that the focus has shifted and that the purpose behind every marketing strategy is not the promotion of health but the opportunity for financial growth.   Through this analysis it becomes clear that the contestants and their weight loss are a very small aspect of The Biggest Loser and if the show ceased to air, the brand itself would still continue to generate millions of dollars. 

Works Cited

“Biggest Loser Resorts.”  The Biggest Loser.  NBC.  N.d. Web. 19 November 2013. 

Holland, Julie. “The Biggest Loser” And It’s Brand Partners ‘Challenge America’ To Get Healthy In 2013.  NBC. 8 January 2013. Web. 21 November 2013.

Mittell, Jason.  Television and American Culture.  Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.  

Santos, Kristin. The Biggest Loser’s Jillian Michaels Hints Rules Scandal Was Ploy to Bring Back Ruben Studdard.  eOnline. 14 November 2013. Web. 21 November 2013.

Silk, M.L, J. Francombe, and F. Bachelor. “The Biggest Loser: The discursive constitution of fatness.”Interactions: Studies in Communication and Culture. 1.3. (2009). 369-389. Web. 21 November 2013.

Vogel, Amanda. Weighing In On The Biggest Loser. Idea Health and Fitness Association. Web. 21 November 2013.