ASA Adjudication on Kellogg Marketing and Sales Company (UK) Ltd

Ad

A press ad and a poster, for Nutri-Grain Soft Oaties biscuits.

a. The press ad was headlined "Wholesome cookie goodness"; the letter "o" in each case was replaced by a cookie. Below, the ad showed a pack shot of the product, which featured a flash stating "Calories 181 9%" and the text "Made with oats & wheat, source of fibre, 6 B vitamins & iron. Enjoy as part of a healthy balanced diet & lifestyle"

b. The poster was also headlined "Wholesome cookie goodness" and showed the front of a box of the Soft Oaties. Small print in the bottom right-hand corner stated "Made with oats & wheat, source of fibre, 6 B vitamins & iron. Enjoy as part of a healthy balanced diet & lifestyle"

Issue

Which? and two members of the public complained that:

1. the ads misleadingly implied the cookies were a snack that was beneficial to health, whereas in fact they believed they were high in sugar, fat and saturated fat; and

2. the ads misleadingly implied the cookies were healthier than they were

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Kellogg Company of GB Ltd (Kellogg's) said they had made it clear they were advertising a cookie, not a healthier snack, and they believed consumers understood that cookies were not on their own beneficial to health. They said the ad campaign was intended to communicate that Nutri-Grain Soft Oaties were made with oats and wheat and were a source of fibre, six B vitamins and iron.  They said the Soft Oaties were made with cereal grains and contained 3.5 g of fibre per 100 g, meaning that they could help people "top up" their fibre, B vitamin and iron intakes while snacking.  They sent nutrition information for the Nutri-Grain Soft Oaties.

Kellogg's said they included the text "Made with oats and wheat, source of fibre, six B vitamins and iron.  Enjoy as part of a healthy balanced diet and lifestyle" to clarify the basis for the claim "wholesome cookie goodness" and prove the claim was valid. They said Soft Oaties were the only cookies on the market that included a source of fibre and B vitamins and iron. They explained that all Nutri-Grain Soft Oaties came in single serve packs and carried clear Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) information for the ingredients that was based on a single serving.  They believed this provided transparent nutritional information to allow customers to make informed choices and understand how each of the products contributed to the overall balance of foods in their diet.  They said the information was highlighted clearly for their consumers by the GDAs on the front of all packs.

Assessment

1. & 2. Upheld

The ASA considered that readers would view the headline claim "Wholesome cookie goodness" in both ads in the context of the additional text that stated "Made with oats & wheat, source of fibre, 6 B vitamins & iron.  Enjoy as part of a healthy balanced diet & lifestyle".   We noted the cookies were packaged in single serving packs weighing 40 g and the ads showed the Soft Oaties with Oat & Chocolate Chip variety. We noted the claim " ... source of fibre, 6 B vitamins & iron" was a nutrition claim and that the product contained sufficient quantities of fibre, B vitamins and iron to comply with regulations for nutrition claims made on food.

We acknowledged that the Soft Oaties were made from oats and wheat as stated in the qualifying text and that the claim  " ... source of fibre, 6 B vitamins & iron" was an accurate nutritional claim.  However, we also noted the Soft Oaties were high in sugar, fat and saturated fat and considered that, by referring only to those ingredients that could convey a nutritional benefit without also referring to those that might have a negative impact on health, the ad could imply the snack was wholly beneficial to health or that the Soft Oaties with Oat & Chocolate Chip were healthier than they were.  We were further concerned that the headline claim "Wholesome cookie goodness" enhanced that impression.  We concluded that the ads were likely to mislead.

The ads breached CAP Code clauses 7.1 and 7.2 (Truthfulness).  We also investigated the ads under CAP Code clause 3.1 (Substantiation) but did not find them in breach.

Action

The ads must not appear again in their current form.  We advised Kellogg's to consult the CAP Copy Advice team before advertising again.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)