One of the products of Unilever that was being advertise to public was what they so called “flora health” The advertisements for the said product claimed that it “ not only helps lower cholesterol but the said products helps to keep the blood vessels healthy. Unilever’s Fro. actitive dairy peptides were proven to help control blood pressure to maintain a healthy heart. Flora. proactive states that scientific studies show that they actually help control blood pressure as part of a healthy diet and if used daily blood pressures effect can start within two weeks.According to ASA, the manufacturer does not have sufficient medical evidence to associate the said product into a healthier blood vessel.
Thus, it is confusing and misleading the consumers. Unilever subject a proclamation saying, "It is well accepted that those products containing plant sterols may really help reduced cholesterol. And this may help in maintaining blood vessels healthy.However in some case in any future advertisements is not appropriate for us to make a distinctive claim and argument that the vitamins B in the pro-active product may help maintain blood vessel healthy on their own because the product can only carry settlement when it is associated to some other product. " The Unilever Company still insisted the studies they undergone to prove that the product they are endorsing really has that effect as they insisted to its advertisements.
ASA asked the Unilever to ditch the advert, although the ASA do not have the legal right and power to ban marketing in breach of the code.On the other hand, the manufacturer of the said product said, they never intent to deceive or mislead all their costumers and go behind firm guidelines before they can advertise. They actually dream to provide some good products and medicines for the people to afford a healthy lifestyle they desire and also for life preservation. The statement and the declaration for the product indorse does not necessarily means that the product can alleviate diseases. Health conscious people will do anything and everything they could to have a healthy body.
Even it means the intake of such drugs and other medicines only to preserve their lives. That is why consumers are easily affected by all of this kind of advertisements and easily purchase the product. Not only on being health conscious people impact how could someone who take good care of their selves resist to a health benefits offered by the producer specially when they are mislead by the stated effects of it as well as blinded by a false testimonials of some endorser. Numerous complains were submitted by consumers voicing concerns about what they saw as in appropriate media selection.Of course for any costumer who are mislead in buying an advertise product would feel that they had been deceived by the endorser.
The initial reaction might be a form of anger. Thus, it is most likely that the consumers will hate not only the endorser of this product but the manufacturer as well. This will be a disadvantage for the company since not only the defected product will decrease profitability but all of the products that are made by the company. I consider that due to the increasing number of available functional foods, this cause of more other cases of misleading advertisements.
The key to maintaining public confidence in advertising is an effective and responsive consumer complaints process. I believe that the advertisements must not contain inaccurate or deceptive claims, statements, illustration or representations with regards to the product and services. Advertisements should be reconstructed. I also believe that it is just right that the product should first have to be register with food safety authorities or in any food and drug test before they can be advertise, endorsed on the public and eventually launched on the market.Referencehttp://www.foodanddrinkeurope.com/news/ng.asp?id=68701-unilever-advertising-danonehttp://www.nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?id=68708-unilever-flora-pro-active-asa-plant-sterols-health-claim
