Mary Carmichael
Tetley has pledged to continue to promote tea's health benefits despite rulings this week by advertising watchdogs that its latest marketing campaign was "misleading".
Marketing and development director Nick Kilby said he was "bewildered" at the decision by the Advertising Standards Authority to uphold a complaint from The Food Commission which centred on the phrases: Tetley is rich in antioxidants that can help keep your heart healthy' and Go on, Live a lot'.
The ASA agreed that the first implied proven health benefits and the second suggested that drinking tea would prolong life. It ordered Tetley to withdraw the posters.
The Independent Television Commission endorsed the decision and ordered Tetley to remove the lines from its TV ads.
Kilby said the tea giant would abide by the decision but would continue its strategy to promote the positive health aspects of tea. "We'll just have to find ways of expressing it," he added.
The posters and TV ads formed the first phase of Tetley's £15m relaunch campaign, which has now been completed.
Kilby said the company was "disappointed" that neither the ASA nor the ITC had acknowledged a weight of scientific evidence to support the health claims. Tetley had submitted 31 different studies.
"It is particularly galling as the ITC and the British Advertising Complaints Commission had previously given us approval to run the ads," he explained. "But at least the debate has raised awareness of the issue."
Bill Gorman, executive director of the Tea Council, said he was surprised at the findings and described it as a "disappointment for the tea industry as a whole".
It is not the first time Tetley's advertising has landed it in hot water this year.
Its decision to replace ad icons the Teafolk with blockbuster-style We are the champions and this is your cup' ads in February was heavily criticised.
Sales fell in value but Tetley claimed its volume sales rose significantly.
{{MARKETING }}
Tetley has pledged to continue to promote tea's health benefits despite rulings this week by advertising watchdogs that its latest marketing campaign was "misleading".
Marketing and development director Nick Kilby said he was "bewildered" at the decision by the Advertising Standards Authority to uphold a complaint from The Food Commission which centred on the phrases: Tetley is rich in antioxidants that can help keep your heart healthy' and Go on, Live a lot'.
The ASA agreed that the first implied proven health benefits and the second suggested that drinking tea would prolong life. It ordered Tetley to withdraw the posters.
The Independent Television Commission endorsed the decision and ordered Tetley to remove the lines from its TV ads.
Kilby said the tea giant would abide by the decision but would continue its strategy to promote the positive health aspects of tea. "We'll just have to find ways of expressing it," he added.
The posters and TV ads formed the first phase of Tetley's £15m relaunch campaign, which has now been completed.
Kilby said the company was "disappointed" that neither the ASA nor the ITC had acknowledged a weight of scientific evidence to support the health claims. Tetley had submitted 31 different studies.
"It is particularly galling as the ITC and the British Advertising Complaints Commission had previously given us approval to run the ads," he explained. "But at least the debate has raised awareness of the issue."
Bill Gorman, executive director of the Tea Council, said he was surprised at the findings and described it as a "disappointment for the tea industry as a whole".
It is not the first time Tetley's advertising has landed it in hot water this year.
Its decision to replace ad icons the Teafolk with blockbuster-style We are the champions and this is your cup' ads in February was heavily criticised.
Sales fell in value but Tetley claimed its volume sales rose significantly.
{{MARKETING }}
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