Health claim embarrassment for Nestle, GSK, over wrong ads
The adverts were intended for broadcast in Bangladesh, but were accidentally shown on UK cable channel Nepali TV, prompting complaints from viewers.
The Nestle ad claimed the noodle product could help build strong bones and muscles by dint of its protein and calcium content; whereas the Horlicks ad claimed that proof had been found that the beverage could make children “taller, stronger and sharper”.
Even though the adverts are said to have been in compliance with Nepali advertising standards, the market for which they were intended, in Europe the new health claims regulation, introduced last year, requires considerable scientific evidence before a food or beverage product can bear a health claim.
The Horlicks ad also referred to a ‘test’ on 869 schoolchildren. After being timed running and swimming, the teachers proclaimed that the children who drunk Horlicks were superior performers.
As for the Maggi Noodles, their protein content was 10 per cent, short of the 12 per cent minimum protein content that the Food Standards Agency (FSA) says products must have in order to make a ‘high in protein' claim.
Marketing tactics
Even though the brand owners were not aware that the adverts would be broadcast in the UK as part of a content re-packaging deal, the issue looks to cause some embarrassment for the multinationals and raise the question of dual standards for scientific substantiation.
Nestle has long battled against criticism of aggressive marketing of its baby milk formulas in developing countries – despite claims that it has changed its practices.
GSK, on the other hand, has petitioned the UK’s Food and Drug Administration to ban dietary supplements from making weight loss claims, seeking to reclassify them as disease claims instead.
A statement from Nestle said: "We rigorously ensure that all health claims made on Nestle products comply with local legislation. The advert had been approved for broadcast and complied with the necessary legal requirements in Bangladesh, the market the advertisement was intended for. It was never intended for transmission in the UK."
A spokesperson for GSK reportedly said that the Horlicks product sold in Nepal is completely different in formulation to that sold in the UK. They, too, stressed that the advert in question was not intended for UK transmission.
