I was truly disheartened by a recent report that Raisin Bran cereal is in fact not all that healthy, containing more sugar than even sugary kid’s cereals like Lucky Charms and Fruit Loops.
Not that I care about Raisin Bran, I don’t even like the stuff. But once again we find that advertising claims are not to be trusted as they are often overstated, misleading or blatantly false. They force consumers to fend for ourselves, checking ingredients on every product we buy, no matter what the brand promise or perception.
Perhaps I’ve simply been too gullible, but for years I have been led to believe that Raisin Bran is like health food, with the high fiber content and all, but it’s the “all” they never told us about. Now I come to learn that it’s also loaded with sugar — a whopping 19 grams, the equivalent of five teaspoons of sugar in an average serving.
Companies attempting to build brands on trust may want to rethink advertising strategies based on deception, especially in today’s customer-centric marketplace where confidence in the integrity of Corporate America has been severely compromised.
Kellogg has been one of the more blatant cereal offenders with a history of misleading advertising practices. Last year the FTC pressured them to stop claiming that its Frosted Mini-Wheats product is clinically proven to improve kid’s attentiveness by 20%. Earlier this year the FTC again forced them to stop advertising that Rice Krispies will strengthen children’s immune systems.
But Kellogg is not the only culprit. In May of last year the Food & Drug Administration slapped General Mills with a stern warning that claims on Cheerios packaging suggesting it is “clinically proven to help lower cholesterol,” are a “serious violation of federal law.”
To say that advertising has lost credibility would be an understatement, as is evident from numerous consumer surveys that show trust in advertising continues to erode, while trust in the opinion of other consumers is on the rise.
It stands to reason then that companies are reallocating marketing budgets from media advertising to social media. What remains to be seen is whether they’re promoting brands or listening.
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