Business Marketing

The Truth about Yogurt

You don’t have to look far to discover that many health professionals believe in the health benefits of yogurt. Elaine Magee, writing for WebMD, notes that “our body needs to have a healthy amount of ‘good’ bacteria in the digestive tract, and many yogurts are made using active, good bacteria.” Yogurt contains probiotics, or the good bacteria that promote healthy digestion. Yogurt also contains protein, which helps prevent osteoporosis, and vitamin D, which provides additional skeletal benefits.26

So how does a company get in trouble promoting the health benefits of yogurt? By overstating its advantages over the competition. Dannon, which produces Activia and DanActive, recently paid $45 million in a class action lawsuit to settle complaints regarding its advertising. The company’s commercials suggested that the products were “clinically” and “scientifically” proven to regulate digestion and boost immune systems in campaigns featuring actress Jamie Lee Curtis, who called the yogurt “tasty.” ABC News noted that “Both yogurts sell at a 30 percent premium over other brands because they claim special bacterial ingredients that the company advertised as clinically proven to help strengthen immune systems and regulate digestion.”

“This was a disingenuous advertising campaign that promised something that hasn’t been proven,” Dr. Roshini Rajapaksa, a gastroenterologist, told ABC News. John Climaco, one of the two attorneys who brought the suit, reported, “The judge agreed that the company was making claims it simply hadn’t proven.”27

Dannon’s executive team disputed the court’s findings, stating that the company settled to avoid the cost and distraction of litigation. Further, “The lawsuit claims the advertising was not true. Dannon stands by its advertising and denies it did anything wrong.”

Still, the terms of the settlement required Dannon to remove the words “clinically” and “scientifically proven” from product labels and advertisements. Instead, the words “clinical studies show,” or something similar, could be substituted. The court also required the company to say that Activia and DanActive yogurts are food rather than treatments or cures for medical disorders or diseases. The company was forced to remove the word “immunity” from DanActive labels and ads. Also, the firm was told to include a qualifier to the advertising claim the yogurt “helps strengthen your body’s defenses” or “helps support the immune system.” Such a statement only pertains, “when (the products are) eaten regularly as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle,” according to the judge’s order. “This is victory for just about anyone who benefits from accuracy in food labeling,” attorney Climaco concluded.28

How do the concepts of deception, puffery, and substantiation apply to thiscase?

Do you agree that the term “clinical studies show” is significantly different from “scientifically proven” or “clinically proven”? Should the judge have been more specific about what wording could or could not be used? 

What ethical or moral guidelines, if any, did Dannon violate? Explain.

What role should advertising and marketing communications play in explaining the health benefits of basic products such as yogurt?