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Complaint From

4 Viewers

Background

An advertisement for Kellogg's Kick-Start Challenge described how people wanting to lose weight could eat Kellogg's cereal for breakfast, substitute it for lunch or dinner and eat a balanced 3rd meal and lose up to 6lbs in two weeks.

Issue

Viewers complained that the advertisement was irresponsible; that it encouraged rapid weight loss from an unbalanced diet and was particularly likely to appeal to teenage girls and young women, in which groups eating disorders were already a problem.

Assessment

The ITC was concerned on three counts:

1. That the advertisement did not make it clear that participants should only follow the diet for two weeks.
   In reply, the BACC considered that the two-week period described in the advertisement, the title 'Kick-Start', and the warning on Kellogg's' website that the diet should be followed for no longer than two weeks, were sufficient. The ITC did not agree that the advertisement contained sufficient clarification that the diet was intended to be for a two week period only. The advertisement stated that it was possible to lose a certain amount of weight over that period. It was not sufficient that viewers had to visit the Kellogg's website or rely on other media to find out these details.
2. That the subjects featured in the advertisement did not appear to need to lose weight.
   Kellogg's said that the women featured in the advert were chosen to represent general members of the public and to demonstrate humorously some women's desire to lose weight. They believed this deliberately exaggerated humourous approach would motivate overweight people to take up the challenge. Kellogg's said that it would, however, review closely the choice of models in any future campaign of this kind.The ITC understood Kellogg's' intentions but considered that the models used appeared to promote the diet towards those who had no need to lose weight, and this should not be encouraged.
3. That the rate of weight loss quoted was not compatible with accepted good medical and dietary practice.
   Kellogg's stated that the reduction in calorie intake promoted under the Kick-Start Challenge followed good medical and dietetic practice for safe rates of weight loss. There was considerable evidence that participants in the initial stages of a diet lost weight at a relatively high rate. Some participants had lost 6lbs in two weeks while following the diet, and Kellogg's therefore considered it was acceptable and safe to report weight loss at that rate.The ITC's own medical advisers agreed that it was safe for some participants to lose weight at that rate during the initial stages of a diet. This was, however, due to initial loss of glycogen and water rather than body fat and would not, nor should it, be sustained beyond the initial stage. Current medical opinion is that a safe rate of weight loss is no more than 1-2lbs per week. The ITC was concerned that advertising reporting higher rates encouraged participants to believe that this was a realistic target to aim for in the long term, when this was not the case. The ITC ruled that the advertising should not return in its current form.

Conclusion

Complaints upheld. Breach of ITC Code Rules 6.7, 8.4.6 and 8.4.3

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