Fruit Snack Wars
NAD challenge cases explored
The fruit snack wars are on! A few months ago, I wrote about General Mills challenging television commercials by Welch’s Fruit Snacks (PIM’s). In the commercials, chef Gordon Ramsay throws away “Fruit Flavored Snacks” by tossing them out of a window. That post includes information on “ash canning,” an advertising term that describes the practice of portraying competing products as so inferior that they might as well be discarded like ashes. Read that post here.
In this case, Welch’s Fruit Snacks (PIM’s), who was previously on the defense, challenged several claims made by the Mott’s brand of General Mills. This shows that bringing NAD cases can have the added ramification of reciprocal action.
From NAD: Although these seem minor, they will likely lead to plaintiff lawsuits and demand letters, which are the biggest”impacts” of NAD decisions. “NAD found that General Mills failed to support these implied claims through challenged social media posts and by reviews reposted by General Mills, including:
“These are great. Way [sic] to get my kids to eat fruits and vegetables. They have [had] a package each night after dinner for years and years.”
“My kids love eating these and I love the fact that it’s made with real fruits and vegetables and no artificial colors. It helps with trying to show them how to eat mindfully and healthy.”
You may be asking yourself what the big deal is with fruit snacks. I looked this up. Apparently, this is a $4 billion industry in the US. Also, as a complete aside, every time I hear the name Mott’s, I think about this 1987 commercial.
Read the NAD case here.
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