Shreddies to water down product claim after challenge by ASA

The ad pitches Shreddies as "school fuel" and shows a schoolteacher whose young pupils have had Shreddies for breakfast, saying how she can tell that they have had a good breakfast by how engaged they are.

The Advertising Standards Authority rejected five complaints from viewers about the ad but upheld a challenge of its own. It asked to see a study undertaken by CPUK supporting the ad's case that "studies show a breakfast like Shreddies helps give kids the mental energy they need to stay involved at school".

The CPUK study involved giving four different breakfasts to 29 children aged nine to 16 over four days. The different breakfasts were: a serving of Shreddies; a serving of Cheerios; a 330ml orange-flavoured drink; and no breakfast.

The ASA said viewers were likely to be mislead by the ad into thinking that the study compared different types of breakfast and not take into account that no breakfast might be a comparison.

CPUK said it would conform with the ASA's request to make such evidence clearer in future advertising.

Of the five viewers whose complaints were rejected, three believed the ad implied Shreddies was a healthy breakfast choice but actually had high levels of sugar and salt, one that it implied children would be more intelligent if they had Shreddies, and one that it implied teachers endorsed Shreddies.

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This article was first published on brandrepublic.com