Cereal Partners Worldwide, the breakfast cereals venture between Nestle and General Mills, has seen two ads banned by the UK’s advertising watchdog.
The Advertising Standards Authority ruled ads for Nesquik and Cheerios cereal could not be used again after CPW broke regulations on comparisons between “similar foods”.
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A third complaint centred on the www.nestlecereals.co.uk/battleofthebreakfasts website CPW used to show nutrient values and percentage guideline daily amounts in Nestle cereals and other breakfast foods. It was dismissed.
The Nesquik TV ad compared nutrients in the cereal with jam and toast and directed viewers to the www.nestlecereals.co.uk/battleofthebreakfasts website. The Cheerios ad, which was launched in the regional press, compared the nutrients in the cereal to a croissant. The ASA ruled neither ad had compared “similar foods” – for example, a comparison between two breakfast cereals.
The third complaint challenged comparisons between Cookie Crisp cereal with milk and crumpets with margarine. It said the comparisons were not based on typical serving sizes.
“We understood the complainant was concerned that the serving of cereal was small and therefore gave a misleading impression of a food that was high in sugar; and that margarine had been added to the crumpets, which significantly increased the value of each nutrient,” the ASA wrote.
“We considered that consumers would understand that the nutrient values shown on the website would vary if they consumed a greater or lesser amount than the portion sizes stated. Because we considered that the website had not made comparative nutrition claims, and because it explained clearly the basis on which the nutrient profiles had been calculated, we concluded that the nutrition information on the website was not misleading.”
