It is prevalent among large corporations to use deceptive advertisements to market their products without being scrutinized. However, in this age of Social Media, it is hard to keep people from talking, and the same thing happened with Cadbury, a large British food company for fraudulent advertising in India.
An Instagram influencer known as foodpharmer produced a video denouncing Cadbury for deceptive advertising in one of its products called Bournvita. He criticized the drink and the manufacturer for deceiving the audience by labeling it a "Health Drink".
Revant Himatsingka (@foodpharmer), brought notice to the excessive sugar content of Cadbury Bournvita and slammed the brand's claims of being a "health drink" for kids. He also mocked Bournvita's tagline "Taiyari Jeet Ki" (preparation for victory), dubbing it "Taiyari Diabetes Ki" (preparation for diabetes).
The video quickly went viral, and some celebrities even reposted it. The brand, as expected, responded with a statement disputing the charges and claiming that the video is factually incorrect. They also sent legal notice to the influencer to take the video down and got his Twitter account suspended.
After getting a legal warning from the brand, the influencer resorted to social media to explain why he had to remove the video. Many people agreed with the influencer and swore they would never buy Bournvita for their kids again.
After the video received immense support from audience and it became a big controversy, The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) asked the brand to remove all the misleading advertisements, packaging and labels from their products.
The NCPCR stated it received a complaint saying that Bournvita markets itself as a health drink that improves children's growth and development, but it includes a high amount of sugar and other ingredients that might harm a child's health.
The company faced backlash and boycotts from consumers, which led to a decline in sales. This serves as a reminder that unethical advertising practices can have serious consequences for businesses in today's interconnected world.
Source: @foodpharmer
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