Truth in Advertising Isn’t Always an Exact Science

When I first heard about the Pop Tarts lawsuit, I honestly didn’t know whose side to be on.

In case you haven’t heard about it, Kellogg’s, who makes the tasty breakfast treat, is being sued for $5 million for deceptive marketing of its strawberry Pop Tarts.

Here is part of what the lawsuit says.

“The strawberry representations are misleading because the product has less strawberries than consumers expect based on the labeling.

“The amount of strawberry ingredients is insufficient not merely to provide the nutrient benefits of strawberries but to provide a strawberry taste.”

Okay first off, it should say fewer strawberries, not less strawberries. Maybe I should sue for the damage the incorrect grammar did to my eyes.

I don’t know about you, but I like a good Pop Tart every now and then. Kim makes fun of me by calling them breakfast cookies.

But she’s right. No one ever ate a Pop Tart — or anything on that grocery store aisle for that matter — because they thought they were getting the nutrient benefits of whatever fruit is pictured on the box.

Kellogg’s uses pears and apples to supplement the strawberries, and the suit mentions that as well. Heck, I’m surprised there’s any real fruit in them at all.

I don’t know why the people who grow the pears and apples don’t sue as well for not getting mentioned.

So yes, I think the lawsuit is silly. If you want strawberries, put your breakfast cookies back on the shelf and cruise on over to the produce section. 

But then again, I have a unique perspective on it.

I’ve spent more than 25 years in the marketing business.

I did financial marketing for 20 of those years — working first for a financial institution and later as a contractor.

I spent most of those years trying to get people to borrow money.

We all know how advertising works. We pitch the dream the loan would get you, not the loan itself.

I used lots of pictures of people having lots of fun.

Sometimes, they were tooling around in a convertible or cruising down the river on their brand new boat.

I was never afraid to show a happy couple curled up on the couch sipping cocoa while their golden retriever lounged in front of the fireplace.

What was I supposed to do, show the guy on all fours in his crawl space trying to figure out why his shower won’t drain?

Showing happy people doing fun things has sold a ton of stuff over the years. But food marketing is somehow different.

Have you ever yearned for that pizza on the TV ad? Not the one the pizza guy is going to toss on your front porch, but that one on the ad.

What about that hamburger on the billboard? That’s the hamburger I want — not the one with the pickles clinging to the edge of the bun on one side and the cheese hanging halfway off the other.

Why stop with dragging Kellogg’s into court? Could we not sue every restaurant and food company on the planet for deceptive advertising?

So where do we draw the line between tantalizing and unethical?

In the Pop Tarts case, let’s just say I probably wouldn’t be the most impartial juror.