Frosties Campaign Slammed Over Misleading Health Claim
A television commercial for Kellogg’s Frosties has been censored by the Advertising Standards Authority following claims that the sugar-coated breakfast cereal is a healthy option for children.
The advertising watchdog reacted to a complaint that the phrase ‘eat right’ in the commercial, alongside various depictions of children playing football, misleadingly implied that the product was healthy for youngsters.
The ASA ruled that the cereal was not a healthy food, stating that a 30 gram portion of Frosties with 125 millilitres of milk contained more sugar than a jam doughnut, a custard tart or a flap jack. It stated that, as ‘eat right’ implied the product was healthy, the commercial was misleading and told Kelloggs not to repeat the claim in future advertisements.
The watchdog concluded that despite the brand’s encouragement for children to participate in sports and eat a balanced diet, the commercial did not refer to the role Frosties played in a healthy lifestyle or balanced diet and that viewers were likely to infer that the claim ‘eat right’ referred solely to Frosties.
The move follows increased attention on the practice of food advertising to children, with many media commentators and health groups claiming that junk food marketing is contributing to the growing obesity epidemic amongst children in the UK. The influential House of Commons health committee recently launched a scathing attack on the advertising industry for its ‘cynical exploitation’ of pester power in the promotion of junk food to children (see Advertisers Grilled Over Relentless Junk Food Promotions).
However, media super-regulator Ofcom has ruled out a ban on junk food advertising during children’s television programmes, branding such measures as ‘ineffective’ but stating that a re-think was not out of the question, depending on a forthcoming white paper from the Food Standards Agency (see Ofcom Rules Out “Ineffective” Ban On Junk Food Ads).
More recently, research from the Advertising Association indicated that restrictions on food marketing could cost the industry upwards of £375 million, around three quarters of its total annual revenue. The proposed restrictions could also force a decline in the quality of children’s programming, as funding is sourced directly from advertisers using the surrounding airspace (see Restrictions On Food Advertising Could Cost £375 Million).
ASA: 020 7580 5555 www.asa.org.uk
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