‘Adult’ drink ballyhooed as energy lift

Just when you thought the beverage market might have reached its saturation point and Boulder couldn’t get any healthier, we now have Spire Energy to give us a “natural, refreshing lift.”

The brand-new health drink made its debut in Boulder (its first test market) at this year’s CreekFest, where, according to the company, thousands of people got their first taste and pronounced it “flavorful” and “great tasting.”

The company is touting Spire as a more adult alternative to other New Age energy drinks and a healthy alternative to other energy sources like soft drinks, coffee and bottled teas. But, according to the company’s PR, what really sets the drink apart is its VitaLift Energy Release System, which delivers a boost in sustained energy through a blend of carbohydrates, green tea and guarana. The company demonstrated this claim to the Eye with a graph that showed test subjects still feeling energetic more than two hours after drinking Spire, while drinkers of a sugar water beverage had less energy than they did at the start.

But after all the marketing, how does the stuff actually taste? “Pretty good” was the consensus at our offices, where “Bliss” was the preferred flavor over the alternative, “Passion.”

Look out Lafayette businesses, the “Secret Shoppers” might be rating your store next. As part of their ongoing efforts to help chamber members succeed, the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce is now offering a “Secret Shopper Service” available to their members.

After meeting with several local businesses, the chamber developed a criteria sheet for their undercover shoppers to use when they visit a local chamber business. Businesses will be evaluated on their exterior appearance, parking, safety, interior atmosphere and customer service. After the shoppers have completed their visit, the evaluation sheets will be returned to the chamber and then forwarded to that particular business for their review.

The service is voluntary and the Chamber needs permission from a business in order to send out one of their secret shoppers. If interested call (303) 666-9555.

The Eye’s eyes simply couldn’t take all of the mind-boggling acrobatic acts in during Cirque Du Soleil’s new Dralion performance in Denver. Words kept coming to mind such as “anti-gravity,” “incredible” and “breath-taking.” If you can find a ticket, the Eye highly recommends this East-meets-West circus tent entertainment. Problem is, tickets went very fast for the shows that run through July 16. Cirque Du Soleil says it will offer a limited number of “premium” house seats for $55 each to the general public about 30 minutes before each performance – sort of a stand-by ticket sale. Tickets are being sold at 1-800-678-5440 or online at cirquedusoleil.com, but Eye operatives say it’s very difficult anymore to find two seats together for any show.

The Eye salutes the three University of Colorado at Boulder students who won first place in the print discipline at the One Club’s Young Creative Professionals advertising competition May 8-9 in New York City.

The CU-Boulder team of David Baker, Farrah Ferguson and Laura Hauseman competed against professional advertising agencies and graduate portfolio schools from around the country.

Thirty teams were chosen to compete in three different disciplines: print, interactive/new media and television. The teams were given 24 hours to complete an assignment. The CU-Boulder team had to execute an ad campaign on the role of the paper clip in the future, in light of its 100th anniversary and the emphasis on an increasingly paperless world.

Their project, titled “Nothing Can Replace a Paper Clip,” used three winning scenarios to beat the competition, including a medical chart held together with a wad of chewing gum.

Shopping, cooking and cleaning have been clinging to women since the days of June Cleaver. During the past few decades that hasn’t necessarily changed, it’s just that over the years more and more duties have been piled on top of these seemingly defining characteristics. The result: Superwomen.

Considering this modern predicament, it wasn’t exactly surprising for the Eye to learn that two-thirds of Internet shoppers are women. After all, women have been moving into more social spaces faster and in larger numbers than their male counterparts despite being placed in the mall, a place that remains, in the Eye’s mind, a place of unbridled credit slinging.

More than 9 million women have logged onto the Internet for the first time in the past year, and 58 percent of new Net users are women. By 2003, women will outnumber men on the Internet by a three-to-two margin, according to a study by Los Angeles-based PeopleSupport.

A regular Net user and generally mallphobic, the Eye can appreciate the ease of shopping online, as well as the benefits now that time is as valuable a commodity as money. So instead of wasting a Saturday afternoon fighting the rest of the world for the last parking space at the mall, Net-savvy shoppers can point, click and purchase in their slippers.

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