Danone has had its wrist slapped over an online ad on its website the UK ad watchdog said implied a child’s health could be affected if they did not consume growing up milk.
The ad suggested toddlers in the UK struggled to get enough vitamin D from sunlight due to the “unpredictable UK weather” and because “toddlers are outside less”. It added: “Cows’ milk is not a good source of this important vitamin, but there are foods fortified with vitamin D, like fortified breakfast cereals and Growing Up Milk, which can offer a simple and convenient solution.”
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The spot attracted complaints, which the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority upheld. The ASA said the ad was not allowed to be used again in its current form.
“We told Nutricia [Danone’s formula arm] their future advertising must not imply or state that a young child’s intake of vitamin D, and as a result their health, could be affected if they did not consume growing-up milk”.
A spokesperson for Danone Nutricia said: “It was not our intention to imply that a young child’s intake of vitamin D, and as a result, their health, could be affected if they did not consume Growing Up Milk. In the context of the whole website, growing-up milk is suggested as one possible route to increasing a child’s intake of vitamin D alongside other dietary sources (including supplements) and sunshine.
“We have already amended the website to incorporate the ASA’s ruling and this advert no longer appears in the form reviewed by the ASA.”
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