Kraft Heinz Co in the United States is under fire for allegedly disparaging ‘healthy’ foods in company ads.
Consumer advocacy group the Centrefor Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) confirmed it had filed a complaint to the Children’s Advertising Review Unit of the Better Business Bureau (CARU).
The complaint singles out two ads. The first, from 2019, shows a young child running away from his mother attempting to serve him vegetables, moments before indulging in a bowl of macaroni and cheese.
The other depicts parents struggling to get their children to eat salmon and vegetables, only to then be encouraged into bribing the kids to eat the ‘healthy’ food with oven-baked fries.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8ZUvU_SW-I&t=38s
The complaint alleges that Kraft Heinz has gone against guidelines which require ads for food products to “encourage responsible use of the product with a view toward healthy development of the child”.
“Kraft Heinz violated these guidelines on multiple occasions by airing an advertisement that disparages vegetables while encouraging consumption of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese,” said the CSPI.
The ads have been taken off air, however the CSPI claims the themes in these ads are still in existence today.