The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Ad complaints are not upheld
The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) is celebrating after complaints about its meat and dairy promotional campaign were rejected.
The levy body says the decision by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) not to uphold complaints about the We Eat Balanced campaign is a “landmark ruling” for British farmers.
The £1.5 million campaign, which ran at the start of this year, promoted the sustainability credentials of red meat and dairy production in the UK, and the role of red meat and dairy in a healthy diet as both products contain the essential vitamin B12.
The ASA received 487 complaints about the ads campaign, including submissions from the Vegan Society and
Compassion in World Farming UK.
The complainants said the campaign adverts were misleading because they implied consumption of meat and dairy was required in order to eat a healthy, balanced diet, and to obtain vitamin B12.
They also said the adverts “misleadingly implied” livestock used for meat in the UK was typically outdoor grazed and had a minimal environmental impact.
The ASA rejected the complaints and its ruling said: “The ads did not state consumers could not obtain a balanced and healthy diet unless they ate meat or dairy.
“We did not consider that consumers would interpret the adverts to mean consumption of meat and dairy was required to be healthy, but rather that meat and dairy products provided a choice of food options that could contribute to an overall healthy, varied diet.”
AHDB welcomed the ruling and the body’s chief communications officer, Christine Watts, said it worked hard to ensure its campaigns were “robust and evidence-based”.
She added: “For British farming this is an important day as we can continue to communicate the benefits around consuming red meat and dairy as part of a balanced diet.”
Vegan Society head of campaigns Louise Davies said the society was disheartened by ASA’s ruling and added: “We still strongly believe by running these adverts the AHDB set out to purposely mislead the public at a time when a record-breaking number of people were trying veganism through the Veganuary campaign.”