ASA bans misleading Iceland factory loaf advert
Following a complaint from the Real Bread Campaign, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) today ruled that an advertisement marketing a range of mass-produced, part-baked loaves as handmade was ‘misleading’ and should not appear again.
The online video advertisement showed an exterior shot of a traditional windmill, before cutting to what appeared to be the small, artisan bakery inside. There a man in traditional baker’s outfit was shown mixing, kneading, scaling, shaping and loading dough into a wood-fired brick oven, all by hand. He said “our stonebaked breads are made from the best wheat, starter dough, water, salt and an amount of yeast.”
Ruling on case A15-305403, The ASA “understood that none of the products in the range, including the stone baked items, were produced by hand. Because the depiction of the baking process, and claims surrounding it, did not accurately reflect the way in which the products were produced, and suggested they contained fewer ingredients than was the case, we concluded that [the advertisement] breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising) and 3.7 (Substantiation).”
The ASA concluded that the advertisement ‘must not appear again in its current form. We told Iceland to ensure their future ads did not state or imply products were subject to fewer processes, or contained fewer ingredients, than was the case.’
Real Bread Campaign coordinator Chris Young said: “This ASA decision is great news for shoppers seeking an honest loaf of Real Bread and for independent, local bakeries employing genuine artisan bakers who really do make fresh, additive-free loaves by hand.”
The ruling follows the ASA investigations team stating in May this year “…that consumers were likely to associate the term Real Bread with the Campaign, and therefore any references to ‘Real Bread’ which related to bread that did not comply with the term as defined by the Campaign had the potential to mislead consumers.”
In July 2010, the ASA upheld a Real Bread Campaign complaint that an ad implied all Tesco stores with a bakery facility baked loaves from scratch, which was true of only a limited number of stores and so was likely to mislead and breached CAP Code clause 7.1 (Truthfulness).
Full details of the complaint and ASA ruling, along with details of how to join the Real Bread Campaign can be found here.
**ENDS**
For more information please contact:
Kath Dalmeny (until 20 October 2015) kath@sustainweb.org
or Chris Young (from 20 October 2015) chris@sustainweb.org
0203 5596 777
twitter.com/realbread
Published Wednesday 14 October 2015
Real Bread Campaign: The Real Bread Campaign finds and shares ways to make bread better for us, better for our communities and better for the planet. Whether your interest is local food, community-focussed small enterprises, honest labelling, therapeutic baking, or simply tasty toast, everyone is invited to become a Campaign supporter.
