Apples picked in autumn being called "spring fruit?" The Advertising Standards Bureau is having none of those apples, upholding a complaint against Coles for promoting Tasmanian grown apples harvested three months ago as "spring" fruit as misleading advertising.
The offending advert showed Coles spokesperson and celebrity chef Curtis Stone asking what is "fresh at Coles right now" and showcasing Tasmanian Pink Lady Apples. The ad suggest that customers “feed their family better, fresher, with spring fruit and veg from Coles…"
Complaints against the TVC took issue with the use of the word "fresh" and "spring fruit" when Tasmanian apples are havested in autumn.
One complaint read: "This is wrong and not possible, I live in Tassie and my apple tree is dormant! These apples
would have been in storage for months, they are not fresh."
It added: "This ad is misleading and my wife would like a personal apology from Curtis (or cash)."
While the apology and cash from Curtis is still outstanding, the ASB upheld the complaint for the use of the term "spring" calling it "misleading."
"The board noted the advertiser’s response that apples are generally harvested in Australia during autumn and considered that the average consumer would be used to seeing apples available in supermarkets all year round and may not be aware of this fact."
"The likely interpretation of the advertisement by the average consumer would be that the Tasmanian apples being promoted as fresh this Spring would have been freshly picked in recent weeks and not over 3 months ago," the ASB said in its determination.
However, it cleared Coles for any wrongdoing for the use of the term "fresh" noting that keeping food in cold storage still allows it to be described that way.
In response Coles said: "Coles considers apples can remain fresh, even if placed in cold storage. ‘Freshness’ is
determined with regard to the quality of the produce, not whether it has been stored or not."
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