Kellogg’s has been forced to update the TVC for its famous Coco Pops cereal after the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) upheld a complaint by the WA Heart Foundation that it was marketing to kids.
The ASB found that despite the fact that the TVC was not directed primarily towards kids, the commercial had breached the RCMI code as the result of four placements in a program with child themes.
Kellogg’s claims the placements equated to less than 1 per cent of the total media buy for the TVC, and was due to administrative error.
The company said it will now modify the TVC to get it back on air as soon as possible.
The current version of the TVC has been intermittently on air from 2012, having been most recently run from January 2016.
Since 2012, there had been no other complaints against this TVC.
Rebecca Boustead, director of corporate communications and public affairs at Kellogg’s, said: “A lot of work goes into creating and planning these adverts, and we work hard to ensure that we do not breach any of the codes to which we are signatories.
“This is a very rare breach for us and we’re disappointed that it was the result of placement errors, but we are pleased to have the confirmation from the ASB that in fact the content of the TVC itself was primarily targeted to adults.
“This is consistent with our objectives when creating the TVC. In addition to updating the ad, we’ve taken action to ensure that our processes with media partners and the networks are tightened to minimise the risk of this happening again in the future.”
