ASA Adjudication on Unilever UK Ltd

Ad

The voice-over on a TV ad for Flora Buttery stated "Gary Rhodes is on a mission to find out which tastes better, Flora Buttery or the leading spreadable from a butter brand". On-screen text stated "Lurpak Lighter Spreadable". Gary Rhodes approached shoppers with buttered crumpets and said "Come and have a taste. Which one is your favourite?" A woman pointed out a selection and replied "That one". Gary Rhodes said "Why's that?", to which the woman responded "It seems a bit more creamy". Gary Rhodes said "Shall I reveal?" He lifted up a plate which showed that the woman had selected Flora Buttery as her preferred choice. On-screen text stated "Out of 200 people tested 48% preferred Flora Buttery Taste, 45% Lurpak Lighter spreadable, 7% had no preference". The voice-over continued "To our delight, his findings confirmed ours. More people prefer the taste of Flora Buttery and, since it's made with seed oils, it has 40% less saturated fat so it's better for your heart". On-screen text stated "As part of a healthy diet and lifestyle". Voice-over and on-screen text at the close of the ad stated "Better Butteryness".

Issue

Arla Foods and 29 viewers challenged whether the ad, and particularly the claim "More people prefer the taste of Flora Buttery", was misleading, because they believed the statistical significance in the consumer preferences demonstrated in the survey was marginal and the sample size was too small upon which to base the preference claim.

BCAP TV Code

Response

Unilever explained that the survey was conducted by a third-party research organisation in May 2008 in Barnsley, Nottingham and Portsmouth.  Respondents were asked to taste Flora Buttery and Lurpak Lighter Spreadable in rotating order before being asked for their preference.  In total, 100 men and 100 women were surveyed, ranging in age from 16 to 64 and split among five different social demographic groups.

They said, in their view, an independent survey of 200 people was appropriate when testing the taste preferences of the general public and pointed out that they had taken steps to ensure that the demographic of the individuals surveyed represented a fair cross section of society.  They explained that, in order to ensure that viewers could assess the results for themselves and draw their own conclusions, they included the size and results of the survey in super-imposed text in the ad.

Unilever said the claim "More people prefer the taste of Flora Buttery" was not an absolute claim, but was based on the results of independent research and Gary Rhodes's own experience as Flora Buttery's brand ambassador.  They believed the results were highly significant for the product, because they showed that 96 people, almost half of those surveyed, preferred the taste of Flora Buttery, a spread made from seed oils, to Lurpak Lighter Spreadable, a spread made of a blend of butter and vegetable oils, and was particularly relevant because Flora Buttery was 40% lower in saturated fat.  They acknowledged that a differential of 3% would not support the claim without qualification. They, therefore, went to considerable lengths to ensure that the claim was easy for consumers to understand and was presented in a clear context with all the material facts.

Clearcast explained that the ad was approved with the qualification "Out of 200 people tested 48% preferred Flora Buttery 45% Lurpak Lighter Spreadable, 7% no preference".  Although they noted the slim margin between the two products, in their view the on-screen text spelled out the facts for consumers to make up their own mind and the claim was, therefore, not misleading.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA noted the size and results of the taste preference survey were stated in on-screen text in the ad.  We also understood that the survey had been carried out by third-party researchers and had indicated that, in the context of that survey, almost half the number of participants chose Flora Buttery over its competitor when asked to select a preference between the two brands of spread.  We acknowledged that those results were valuable for the product and the brand in view of the compositional differences between the two tested products.

Although the survey resulted in 96 out of 200 participants selecting Flora Buttery as their preferred choice, we were concerned that that result, from a sample size of 200, was insufficient to support a 'preference' claim and, furthermore, we were shown no evidence to demonstrate that the results were statistically significant to qualify the claim that 'more people prefer' Flora Buttery in the context of the survey.  We noted, of the total number surveyed, the number of those who selected Lurpak Lighter Spreadable or indicated no preference, was greater than the number who selected Flora Buttery.  We considered, therefore, that the results had not demonstrated that more people prefer the taste of Flora Buttery.

We concluded that the claim "More people prefer the taste of Flora Buttery" had not been supported with sufficiently robust evidence and was therefore, likely to mislead.

The ad breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1 (Misleading advertising), 5.2.1 (Evidence), 5.2.2 (Implications) and 5.4.6 (Comparative advertising).

Action

The ad should not be broadcast again in its current form.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)