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Holding Wyeth/Pfizer to account: SMA advertising ruled misleading, email marketing condemned and...

In a national billboard, print and online advertising campaign in March 2012, Wyeth (part of Pfizer) promoted its formula in a series of advertisements showing mothers with young children under headlines: "What’s the best milk after Kate’s?", "What’s the best milk after Lisa’s?" etc.

Following complaints by Baby Milk Action and other groups and individuals, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled the answer is NOT SMA formula.

In a ruling published on 19 September it warns Pfizer not to repeat the advertisements after finding: "the ads misleadingly implied that follow-on milk was the best alternative to breast milk" and "the ads misleading implied that SMA Follow-on milk was superior to other follow-on milks".

However, there is no requirement under the UK Advertising Code for companies to run corrections when they have misled the public and no fines.

On 28 November, the ASA upheld another complaint brought by Baby Milk Action, this time against an email campaign. The email headed "How is feeding going?" was aimed at mothers with four-week-old babies and played on fears about milk intake and possible problems with breastfeeding before asking "Thinking of bottle feeding?" and promoting SMA infant formula with a claim it contains a fat blend closer to breastmilk. The ASA ruling states:

"The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told SMA [sic] not to produce marketing communications for infant formula except in a scientific publication or, for the purposes of trade before the retail stage, a publication of which the intended readers were not the general public."

[SMA is the brand, the company was Pfizer].

This is a significant ruling and we are calling on Nestlé, which has now completed its purchase of Pfizer Nutrition/Wyeth to stop all infant formula marketing communications. (See page 20).

These rulings are welcome, but Wyeth continues to promote its formula to health workers with the claim "Drop for drop, no other formula comes close" safe in the knowledge that the ASA refuses to investigate advertising in health journals. 

For further analysis, see Baby Milk Action’s briefing How the Advertising Standards Authority fails to protect babies and their families in the UK - click here to download.

...the SMA Baby Know How roadshow stopped

 Pfizer/Wyeth cancelled its much promoted SMA Baby Know How roadshow in June 2012 after shopping centres pulled out of the event. The roadshow was to have run through June and July, including during National Breastfeeding Week. 

The stated purpose was to launch new packaging for SMA formula, while enticing mothers with the offer of advice, free mother-and-baby photographs and other inducements. 

Members of the public sent messages of protest to the shopping centres in support of a Baby Milk Action 'Stop Wyeth' campaign. 

The first event at Lakeside shopping centre on 14 June was cancelled the day before, meaning a planned demonstration did not have to go ahead. 

The second event at Bluewater scheduled for 21 June was cancelled on 16 June, though Wyeth continued to advertise it until announcing the roadshow as a whole was 'postponed' on 20 June after other shopping centres also pulled out. 

Baby Milk Action is calling on the shopping centres to put in place policies to respect baby milk marketing requirements to prevent a repeat.

See our press release announcing the success of the 'Stop Wyeth' campaign for further details - click here.

No promotion - cheaper formula

The millions companies spend on advertising, gifts, courting health workers etc. is added to the price of formula, which is already overpriced.

See the calculation by Baby Milk Action and the No Promotion - Cheaper Formula petition, a campaign supported by Mumsnet and others, at:

http://www.change.org/petitions/baby-milk-companies-no-promotion-cheaper-formula

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