ASA orders Mller to pull misleading ad campaign

The Advertising Standards Authority has banned a campaign for Müller’s Little Stars range because it misleadingly implies that all the ingredients used are naturally produced.

The watchdog ruled against the TV and press ads after Yoplait Dairy Crest challenged whether Müller’s claim that the range is made from “100% natural ingredients” is fair and accurate.

On the TV ad, created by TBWA/London, a voiceover states that Little Stars are made from as “little as” five ingredients “all of which are pure and natural, so it’s like getting a helping hand from mother nature” and finishes with onscreen text stating “100% natural ingredients”.

The press and magazine ads make similar claims.

Müller says there is widespread use of the word “natural” to mean ingredients “derived from living organisms” in food labelling and other advertising.

But the watchdog concluded that consumers are likely to judge whether ingredients are “natural” or “100% natural” in terms of their origin and other processing undergone and are likely to trust that the claims can be substantiated.

The ASA also ruled that use of the words “helping hand from mother nature” in both the TV and press ads also misleadingly implied that all the ingredients are completely natural.