Ad description
Claims on a website, seen in July 2011, for a children's supplement drink stated "Kids Not Getting Their 5 A Day?" and featured a picture of a smiling child holding a glass of the product with a large amount of fruit and vegetables falling into it from above. Large text on the left stated "kidz 5 a day The Tasty Treat Your Kids Will Love!" and was followed below with a bulleted list which stated "All Natural; All Organic; 33 fruits and Vegetables; Tastes Great!; Gives Kids Their 5 A Day; Scientifically Proven To Work; Save Time & Money; Simply mix with milk and serve - tastes like a chocolate shake". Below the picture of the child text next to a picture of Parenting Magazine stated "'The easy way to make sure your children get all their nutritional needs.' Parenting Magazine".
Issue
1. Two complainants challenged whether the claim "Gives Kids Their 5 A Day" was misleading and could be substantiated.
2. The second complainant challenged whether the claim that the product was "All organic" was misleading because the ad stated elsewhere that the product was only partly organic.
Response
1. Kidz 5 A Day Ltd (Kidz) provided an ORAC report and cited a page from their website in support of the claims. They said Kidz 5 a day contained 300 ORAC units per gram and that their serving size was 7.5 g.
2. Kidz said the claim that the product was organic had been withdrawn and would be replaced with a claim that the fruit and vegetables used in the making of the product were organic.
Assessment
1. Upheld
The ASA referred to current guidance published by the Department of Health and the NHS which explained that a portion of fruit or vegetables was defined as approximately an 80 g serving of the fresh fruit or vegetable itself, or 30 g of such an item when dried. We also understood that 150 ml of unsweetened, 100% fruit juice could count as a maximum of one portion per day. We therefore considered that only products which fulfilled those criteria could claim to be, or be equivalent to, one or more portions of fruit and vegetables.
We understood, however, that the advertised product was in fact a fruit-flavoured drink supplied as a powder that needed to be diluted with milk. We therefore considered that, irrespective of how that powder had been made, the resultant drink could not be considered to contain a portion of fruit or vegetables as defined under the guidelines.
We noted the ORAC report supplied by Kidz. However, we did not consider that ORAC data, which related to the antioxidant properties of the product, was capable of showing that the product was, or contained, fruit and vegetables.
Because we understood that the advertised product was not, and did not contain, fresh fruit or vegetables we concluded that the claim "Gives Kids Their 5 A Day" was misleading.
On this point the claim breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 3.1 Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. (Misleading advertising) and 3.7 3.7 Before distributing or submitting a marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that consumers are likely to regard as objective and that are capable of objective substantiation. The ASA may regard claims as misleading in the absence of adequate substantiation. (Substantiation).
2. Upheld
We noted that the use of the claim "organic" was prescribed by law and considered that, in order to substantiate that the product was organic, Kidz needed to provide documentary evidence that showed that the product itself was certified by one of the organic certification bodies in the UK. Because we had not seen such evidence we considered that the claim had not been substantiated and was misleading.
On this point the claims breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 3.1 Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. (Misleading advertising) and 3.7 3.7 Before distributing or submitting a marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that consumers are likely to regard as objective and that are capable of objective substantiation. The ASA may regard claims as misleading in the absence of adequate substantiation. (Substantiation),
Action
The claims must not appear again in their current form. We told Kidz 5 A Day Ltd not to claim or imply that the product was the equivalent to fresh fruit and vegetables. We told them not to claim that the product was, or contained ingredients which were organic unless they held the appropriate certification from one of the approved certification bodies. We told Kidz 5 A Day Ltd to consult CAP's Copy Advice team before preparing marketing communications in future.
CAP Code (Edition 12)
15.1 15.6.3 15.7 15.8 3.1 3.11 3.47 3.7
