Serial complaints

25 January 2006

Food advertising, especially when directed at children, is set to be one of the hottest issues for the ASA in 2006. With healthy eating firmly on the UK’s public and political consciousness after high profile campaigns, such as chef Jamie Oliver’s push to improve school dinners, a growing number of manufacturers are keen to promote the benefits of their products. Equally, organisations like The Food Commission and the National Consumer Council (NCC) are avidly watching out for advertising claims that potentially mislead consumers.

In particular, the ASA has been asked to look into advertising by the cereal sector  in recent months. Some of the most famous brand names such as Shreddies, Cheerios and Coco Pops have been investigated by the ASA following complaints that their advertising has breached the advertising codes.

The task for the ASA is to weigh up whether an advertiser has struck the right balance between flagging up a health benefit and creating a misleading overall impression that their product is healthy.

In August, one viewer complained that Shreddies’ advertising implied that children would be more intelligent if they ate the cereal, and another believed the ads suggested that teachers endorsed the brand. These complaints were not upheld, but the advertiser was warned not to exaggerate the role of research when making specific claims about the product benefits in future. The advertiser agreed to amend all future advertising referencing research.

In November, the NCC objected to the strapline “Run around, have fun and eat a balanced diet” in ads for Coco Pops Coco Rocks. It argued that linking this tagline with a sugary cereal undermined progress to public understanding of a balanced diet. The complaint was not upheld; the ASA concluded that the brand was offering good advice about diet and exercise, rather than making a specific claim about the health credentials of Coco Pops Coco Rocks.

Similarly, The Food Commission lodged a complaint in September about Cheerios’ advertising. The commission said that the strapline “Good eating habits are easy to pick up” implied the product was a healthy family choice, despite its high salt and sugar content.

Again, the ASA investigated and ruled that the slogan was acceptable as a general claim and that it would be possible to accommodate Cheerios as part of a balanced diet.

However, it is not only cereals that have come in for scrutiny. The ASA yesterday (25 January) published its decision on a complaint that had been made by the Food Commission concerning an ad for Kingsmill Wonder White bread. The ad stated “2 slices = more calcium than a glass of milk twice the fibre of a banana lower salt”. The complainants had challenged whether the advertised claim was true and were also concerned that the ad irresponsibly implied that two slices Kingsmill Wonder White were more nutritious than a banana. The ASA dismissed both points of complaint. Firstly, the advertisers had satisfied the ASA Council that they could prove the claim and on the second point of complaint, we considered that most consumers viewing the ad would not conclude that the advertised bread was more nutritious than a banana; they would understand that the ad was merely comparing the fibrous content of each.

With Ofcom due to undertake a review of food advertising this year, and advertisers focusing on healthy claims, this topic will be in the media spotlight for many more months to come.