The ASA received a complaint about Kellogg’s TV advert for Special K porridge, and claims on its website promoting the Special K range. Neither advert should appear again in its current form, ruled the advertising watchdog.
The TV advert was first broadcast in October 2015. The voice-over in the advert claimed: “Our new five grain super porridge is full of goodness”. A text statement said: “Special K porridge contains vitamin B2 which contributes to the maintenance of normal skin.”
The ASA said that the “full of goodness” claim didn’t appear on-screen at the same time as the vitamin B2 statement, so the two were standalone claims. Therefore, the “full of goodness” claim breached the advertising code because it wasn’t backed up sufficiently.
Not clearly linked
Kellogg argued the claim “full of goodness” was related to the entirety of the product, including the grains, fruits, seeds and vitamin fortification.
The ASA said: “The specific health claim did not appear with or immediately following the general health claim ‘full of goodness’.
“As such, we considered it did not accompany the general health claim and in that regard, the ad breached the [advertising] code.”
On the manufacturer’s website homepage, Kellogg stated “All Special K flakes are made with our unique Nutri K recipe making a nutritious and delicious start to your day.”
Failed to back up
The ASA ruled the company failed to back up its ‘nutritious’ claim with specific health benefits to consumers.
Kellogg claimed the reference to ‘nutritious’ was linked to the ingredients used in the product, which were listed on the website.
However, the ASA responded by saying the consumer had to click through two webpages before finding the ingredients, and the claim should have appeared alongside the health benefits.
The ASA said: “We therefore concluded the presentation of the claim, as it appeared on the homepage, breached the [advertising] code.”
“[Both adverts] must not appear again in their current form. We told Kellogg Marketing and Sales (UK) Company Ltd to ensure that relevant authorised health claims accompanied any general health claims that featured in their advertising”.
ASA ruling on Kellogg – at a glance
- Two Kellogg adverts banned in their current form
- Adverts appeared on TV and online
- TV claim Special K porridge was ‘full of goodness’ not backed up
- Online claim Special K range was ‘nutritious’ not backed up