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FoodBev Media
23 April 2008
Kellogg's escapes wrath of ASA
Kellogg’s has escaped a double blow after the UK's Advertising Standards Authority cleared two ads that, between them, received almost 70 complaints from the public.
The ads, both devised by US agency Leo Burnett, were created to promote Kellogg’s Coco Pops and Nutrigrain cereal products and amassed 26 and 42 complaints respectively from members of the public.
The Nutrigrain ad featured a baker posing as a doctor to prescribe Nutrigrains as a remedy for mid-morning hunger. The ad ended with the baker telling the patient to remove his trousers. Complainants felt that the ad was suggestive of sexual abuse by older authority figures.
The ASA conceded that the ad was bordering on distasteful but ruled that since the patient was clearly an adult and the baker was presented as a surreal and eccentric character, viewers would understand that it was intended to be humorous.
The other ad showed a mother giving her children Coco Pops as an after-school snack and was challenged by parents who felt it was high in sugar and inappropriate as an afternoon snack. The ASA acknowledged that the product was high in sugar but noted that a small serving was advised.