Bakers Delight has modified its latest ad campaign after Ad Standards upheld a consumer complaint.
The television advertisement shows a bag in the shape of a loaf of bread being filled with red and blue liquid with a voice-over saying: "Some supermarket aisle loaves can be pumped full of preservatives, so it would seem its wellbeing is more important than yours. Bakers Delight Hi Fibre Lo Gi White Bread hasn’t a preservative in sight."
In the complaint to Ad Standards the consumer detailed its negative impact on their children.
"After seeing this advertisement one time my children became upset and stressed, and they now refuse to eat loaf bread. This is also now extending to them investigating all bread products, like hot cross buns," the complaint said.
"With bread a dietary staple I don’t think this portrayal is appropriate. It resembles a smoking quit ad which is designed to shock. This level of fear mongering for bread is unnecessary in terms of associated health risk and is risking unintended consequences of food refusal."
In response, Bakers Delight believed there was no breach because the advertisement met the requirements of the G classification criteria in Appendix 1 of the Code of Practice.
With regards to the voice-over, Bakers Delight clarified why it felt there had been no breach.
Regarding the line;
‘Some supermarket aisle loaves can be pumped full of preservatives.’
"Many supermarket breads contain preservatives, for example, these are just a few products commonly available in supermarket that contain emulsifiers as preserving agents," the advertiser said.
Regarding the line voice-over line;
'So it would seem its well being is more important than yours’
"Preservatives are used to improve texture, enhance stability, and extend shelf life of the product itself. The potential risks of preservatives to human health however, are widely known." the advertiser said.
"The commercial is not attributing negative effects of preservatives to humans, but instead clearly stating that they are there for the bread not for the consumer."
The advertiser also noted the advertisement was marketed to female household primary grocery buyers aged 25-
55, and was not bought into children’s programming, limiting exposure to children.
The Ad Standards panel noted the complainant’s concern that the 'fear mongering' is unnecessary.
The panel concluded the visuals in the ad were representative of a factual claim, but the majority of the panel concluded the voice-over line, “its wellbeing is more important than yours” would most likely be interpreted by an average consumer as stating that preservatives in supermarket bread are bad for your wellbeing.
The Panel concluded that the advertisement did breach Section 2.1 of the Food Code and upheld the complaint.
"In response to the ruling, we [will] change the voice over to remove line ‘it’s wellbeing is more important than yours," the advertiser said.
The voice-over now says: "Some supermarket aisle loaves can be pumped full of preservatives.
So they can last an extra-long time on the shelves. At Bakers Delight, our Hi Fibre Lo-GI white bread hasn’t a preservative in sight."
The advertiser also noted the change removes any link between consumer wellbeing and preservatives.
"But instead focusing on the contrast of supermarket aisle products and our own," the advertiser added.
The ad is next due to run on television from April 27.
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