After an evening of watching TV I was amazed how many ads featured over weight men. Or at least plump ones.
Is this an honest approach to advertising that we are now showing the real average man in the street rather them the perfect looking man you get in perfume ads? And they don’t get any less glamerous than Johnny V in PG Tip ads. Read More
EIRIS (Ethical Investment Research Service) is a leading global provider of independent investment research into the environmental, social, governance and ethical performance of companies. Its recent survey is good news for a number of UK companies.
Top of the pile was the bus group First Group. Go Ahead, another transport company, came 10th. GlaxoSmithKline did well too. Read More
When Glencoe floated, its 480 partners made a killing. Many ended up as either multi-millionaires or billionaires. But it wasn’t just the money makers who were making a killing… so the BBC claimed.
Referred to as the ‘biggest company you’ve never heard of’’, Glencore is a commodity giant, worth £27bn. It trades huge quantities of wheat, coal and much of the world’s copper. Read More
Stonewall’s recent campaign, ‘SOME PEOPLE ARE GAY GET OVER IT’ was in response to what some have called ‘queer bashing’ from certain anti-gay religious groups. Its main focus is on gay marriages, which is why some religious people are upset.
Unlike Stonewall’s more pragmatic ads, those by Core Issues Trust & Anglican Mainstream are plain hate, ‘NOT GAY! EX-GAY,POST-GAY AND PROUD. GET OVER IT’.
Speaking on LBC on the subject, I pointed out that if you replaced the word GAY in either ad with BLACK, JEWISH, ISLAMIC, DISABLED… then Stonewall’s would still be ok but the religious group’s one would be racist and even an incitement to hatred. Read More
When it comes to ethics in the food & drink business, obesity is top of the agenda. But despite our ever rising obesity levels in the UK many food brands have done little to really tackle the issue. However, it seems economics is doing the work instead.
As sugar prices rise, they have almost doubled since 2010, food and drink brands are looking to alternatives, mainly artificial sweeteners like Tate & Lyles super sweet ‘Sucralose’ (E955) or Ajinomoto’s ‘Aspartame’ (E951).
Other artificial sweeteners used in soft and sports drinks include ‘Splenda’, ‘Ace-K’, ‘Erythritoll’ and ‘Acesulfame Potassium’, but sugar still remains the number one sweetener.
The UK is one of the biggest users already of artificial sweeteners because of the high cost of sugar imports, yet many brands don’t use this factor to push a healthier message. According to Mintel, a third of low calorie drinks launched since 2010 don’t carry a diet drink claim. In the current climate this can only be a missed marketing opportunity.
Britvic brand SoBe V-Water has opted for ‘Stevia’, a natural South American herbal sweetener (a member of the sunflower family) and not before time as it has been heavily criticised for its sugar content.
Stevia, due to its steviol glycoside extracts, is about 40 times sweeter than sugar so has allowed SoBe to dramatically reduce calories. It is more commonly used in the US and it’s probably only a matter of time before Coca-Cola introduces it into UK lines like Fanta (targeted at kids) – they already use it in France in their Fanta Still product.
Of course the drink that goes down in history for sugar deception is Sunny D. Originally marketed in a way to make it look like it was a natural orange drink (it was even sold in the chiller cabinet) it was a big hit with kids. But when consumers found out it was nothing more than coloured sugar water (with just 5% juice) millions was wiped off of the brand’s profits and value.
I remember sitting in a meeting when I was a CD at Saatchi’s with a P&G marketing manager discussing a relaunch brief for Sunny D. It was a hopeless mission and one that failed. I suggested they bin the brand and launch a new one built around honesty and health, which was meet with puzzled faces. “But we’ve invested millions into it,” he commented. “Yes you have,” I replied,” millions in deceiving mums when you could have invested in a decent product in the first place. But now you’ve lost their trust you can’t buy it back, no matter how deep your pockets.” It was a lost argument when you are talking to someone trained just in ‘Profit & Gain’.
In Australia research has linked the consumption of sugary soft drinks with an increase in child heart disease, not to mention the common problems of rotten teeth and over weight. Kids as young as 12 are showing early signs of heart problems has shocked Aussie mums.
Despite their benefits, artificial and natural sweeteners can be controversial with some parties questioning their side effects. In the US, due to actions of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and following the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, Stevia can only be sold legally in the United States as a “dietary supplement.” At one time it was banned.
The big question you have to ask is, when there are so many low calorie alternatives why do drink brands still fill their bottles with up to 6 spoonfuls of sugar? Probably comes down to the sweet taste of fat profits.
Sugar in drinks facts:
http://www.sugarydrinkfacts.org/
We’ve all seen at one or two spoof versions of the Hitler film Downfall. In fact there have been so many versions the Telegraph published a top 25 chart.
And as so many creatives theses days don’t look any further than YouTube (remember when we used our imaginations rather than a Mac?) one creative team have decided to use Hitler to sell a hair wash brand called Biomen. Read More
As part of the government’s Public Health Responsibility Deal, seventeen companies, from snack foods to fast foods to soft drinks, have committed to reducing calories. More than three-quarters of the retail market have signed up.
In the ‘Call for Action on Obesity’, Andrew Lansley (MP) challenged the food industry to reduce calories by over 5 billion, the surprise is how many have responded. Read More
Love them or hate them, actually most of us love them both, these two giants brands are getting greener by the year.
The trouble with being a large American corporation is that you are always going to be a target of left wing anti-capitalist groups, radical greens and anyone who wants to vent their inner anger at large American corporations. Read More
If you are a green brand fan, or lover of any ethically orientated brand, now’s the chance to be get your fav brand nominated for the Observer Ethical Awards. But hurry, you have until Friday 16th March.
Retailers, campaigners, fashion, food, arts & culture, big ideas, business initiatives, whatever you rate, even sporting stars (well it is the year of the Olympics) they can be nominated. Read More
Former M&S boss, Sir Stuart Rose, has been at the centre of a debate between a scheme to help young people into the workplace and a left wing group ‘Right to Work,’ who are complaining that big businesses offer to try and reduce unemployment is ‘slave labour.’ It’s a highly controversial subject as news coverage is more about opinion than fact, packed with lots of emotion (mainly hate).
Rose, who started his retail career shelf-stacking and sweeping floors, said it was “baffling” that anyone would complain about unemployed youngsters being given opportunities. Read More
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