VITAMIN WATER ADS ARE DECEPTIVE

COCA-COLA’S VITAMINWATER ADVERTS
IS BRANDED “DANGEROUSLY MISLEADING”

www.dailymail.co.uk - Coca-Cola has been accused of being “dangerously misleading” in adverts and labels on a bottled mineral water it claims is healthy. Vitaminwater is the subject of a new complaint in the U.S which claims the adverts are a “public health menace” and “outlandish”. The National Consumers League has filed a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission questioning claims the water can replace flu jabs and prevent illness.
The development is the latest blow for the brand after Britain’s advertising watchdog last month ruled an advert claiming the drink is “nutritious” was misleading. Glaceau, a Coca-Cola company, claims the water is “nutritious” because it contains 100 per cent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C and other vitamins.

But the Advertising Standards Authority banned the advert, declaring that the public “would not expect” a “nutritious” drink to have the equivalent of up to five teaspoons of added sugar. “Stopping these Vitaminwater claims, which contradict information by the Centers for Disease Control and other public health authorities, should be a top FTC priority.”
The NCL complaint also calls on the FTC to stop deceptive labelling which describe the drink as “a nutrient enhanced water beverage” and “vitamins + water = all you need”, and a television advert also which claims the drink has helped a woman stay well because it supports the immune system. The body argues that the claims are deceptive because the products contain cystalline fructose or other forms of sugar and 125 calories a bottle.


Coca-Cola has been rapped by health campaigners in the United States for an advert that claims its Vitaminwater drink is more beneficial than a flu jab, and a TV ad claiming the drink’s vitamin C and Zinc ingredients help support a healthy immune system. Sally Greenberg, NCL’s executive director, said: “These advertising claims are not only untrue; they constitute a public health menace.” Ms Greenberg added: “Two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese; the last thing people need is sugar water with vitamins you could get from eating a healthy diet, or by taking a vitamin pill.” Misleading claims are considered part of any marketing strategy, however, advertising should include trust and reliability.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Working in advertising is a big responsibility. It is therefore essential that this profession should be run with consciousness and involve the truth. ... In fact, the principles of advertising such as suggestion and creativity can be put at the service of ecology, health, education, culture. These themes are so important to mankind that never the work of publicists can be ignored. ... The Spoon Revolution is an example that it is possible to cure the disease with the same machinery that caused it. Conscious advertising and conscious commerce are not a problem. The publisher has an important social function, so he is prompted to put forward campaigns for the common good. He must know the true priorities of mankind, which of course are not sex or gambling, or drunkenness.

Śrīla Bhakti Aloka Paramadvaiti Mahārāja :
“Conscious Advertising” - “Vedic Wisdom Collection”
http://www.sabiduriavedica.org/sv.php?id=109_81
http://bhaktipedia.org/espanol/index.php?n=sabidurias_vedicas.publicidad_conciente