Food ads should tell the truth, the whole truth, shouldn’t they?

Have just seen an advertisement on TV, which just makes me very angry. It annoys me when a business uses what is not legally allowed in their product as the basis for an ad instead of promoting the benefits and hints that it is the only one doing the right thing. In this case it is a long life milk and the advertising company decided to use the required legal absence of preservatives as the basis for a very emotive and inflammatory advertisement.

A young girl, glowing bright green, is seen in various situations where she is obviously being shunned by those around her. It ends with a picture of her on a park bench and the words “preservatives have consequences” across the top.

Businesses working in the food industry are obviously trying to make money and the vast majority follow the rules and aim to make a product that is safe for the consumer and makes them happy to buy again. There are cowboys but they are in the minority. The media generally portrays food businesses and the industry in general as baddies only interested in making money.

This ad only promotes this negative view of the industry that employs more Australians than any other and it is not highlighting the good things of the product but the fact that it does not contain preservatives. The thing is that none of the long life milks are allowed to contain preservatives and if the process and packaging are right, there is no need for them.

Why a well known brand allowed this ad to go to air is beyond rationale explanation and it would not be surprising if it is pulled from our screens very quickly. It is sneaky and not going to help the product sales in the long run.

So the marketing question is this – is it acceptable to hint in an ad that it is only your product that does not contain something that causes concern to the public, when in fact none of that product type are allowed to contain it?

This article has been written by Rachelle Williams – The Green Food Safety Coach