Advertising Watchdog Bans Birds Eye Ad for Breaking Health Marketing Rules
The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld five complaints that the Birds Eye brand ran misleading ads that could not be substantiated.
Marketing for Birds Eye Field Fresh Broccoli Florets on posters and in press campaign claimed the product had "30% more vitamins than fresh vegetables.* I've just read the research."
ASA has banned the ads. The consensus is that the product is not in fact more healthy than fresh vegetables, since the research it cited, mentioned in small print on the ad, only studied vitamin C and so could not be applied to other vitamins.
The watchdog has said that the ad should not continue to run again because it broke advertising rules about health claims and exaggeration as well as those about misleading and unsubstantiated marketing.
It has also said Birds Eye should not make comparative claims between frozen and fresh vegetables in future, since European rules relating to health claims forbid products being compared to products of a different category.
Birds Eye has defended the ad by saying it was intended to educate consumers about the health benefits of frozen food, and directed them to further information on its website.