Ad description
An advergame on www.chewits.co.uk for Chewits confectionery, titled "Taste Adventure" featured Chewie the dinosaur. The aim of the game was to move the Chewie avatar around the landscape and to find and eat nine different flavoured Chewit sweets.
Issue
The Children's Food Campaign (Sustain) objected that the game actively encouraged and rewarded images of excessive consumption of the product.
Response
Leaf Confectionery (Leaf) said the game was designed to be a fun addition to their website users' experience and that they did not believe the game actively encouraged or rewarded the consumption of Chewits, because there was no reward for completing the game, other than the sense of satisfaction of having done so. They said the game did not show a human consuming the product, or show consumption in a normal way because, in order to find the Chewits, Chewie had to chew Great British landmarks. They pointed out that the maximum number of Chewits that could be collected was nine and that there were ten Chewits in a packet. Whilst they said they were not suggesting that children ate nine Chewits in one go they advised that, should a child do this, they would still only have consumed 17% of their GDA of sugar, less than government guidance would suggest was consumed as snacks in the course of a day. They said it was clear, when viewing their website as a whole, that they positioned Chewits as a treat to be consumed as part of a healthy diet and lifestyle.
Assessment
Not upheld
The ASA considered that the game was clearly set in a fictitious setting, with a cartoon dinosaur chewing on Great British landmarks in order to release Chewits, and that therefore the consumption of Chewits was represented in an abstract way. We noted that, as well as Chewits, Chewie also collected a number of items of sports equipment and pieces of fruit. Whilst we accepted that the game showed all nine varieties of Chewit, we noted that only one sweet of each flavour was shown being consumed by Chewie, and that the total number of Chewits that could be collected within the game was less than the number of Chewits found within a standard packet. We also acknowledged that information about how to enjoy the product responsibly was available on the website, along with a link to the "Be treatwise" website. We concluded that the advergame did not condone or encourage excessive consumption of the product.
We investigated the ad under CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 15.4 15.4 Marketing communications must not condone or encourage excessive consumption of a food. (Food, food supplements and associated health and nutrition claims) and 15.11 15.11 Marketing communications must not condone or encourage poor nutritional habits or an unhealthy lifestyle in children. (Food and soft drink product marketing communications and children) but did not find it in breach.
Action
No further action necessary.
