Coca-Cola, Chupa Chups and Nutella named among most misleading marketing claims of 2011
The Children’s Food Campaign has named Coca-Cola, Tango, Chupa Chups and Nutella as having made the "dodgiest" junk food advertising claims in 2011, with Children’s Food Campaign director Kawther Hashem accusing them of "shamelessly misleading" consumers through "half truths and "made up so-called facts".
Chupa Chups was considered most misleading with 390 votes for an animation on its website implying its lemon lollipops were made from lemon juice, when the juice content is as little as 3%, while Coca-Cola's water brand Glaceau came under fire for its "spring water with fruit juice" claim when only three of eight Glaceau products "contain any form of fruit". Coca-Cola received 142 votes.
Second most misleading claim of the year with 180 votes was by the British Soft Drinks Association. An online educational pack for children from the BSDA claimed variations in climate and sunshine levels affects a crop, and that sugar may be needed to achieve desired sweetness. This was argued as misleading because many drinks contain a lot of sugar which has nothing to do with climate or sunshine levels.
Tango maker Britvic ranked third with 161 votes for a claim in its "educational learning zone" website which claimed dentists have said not drinking enough can lead to "insufficient saliva" leading to tooth decay. This was deemed misleading as there was no mention that many soft drinks often contain high sugar content and are acidic, which are major causes of tooth decay and erosion.