Nesquik bunny ad banned over ‘great start to the day’ claim

Use of cartoon rabbit and suggestion that chocolate drink was a suitable regular breakfast option encouraged poor nutritional habits in children, says ASA

An ad for Nesquik hot chocolate featuring a cartoon rabbit has been banned for claiming it gave children a “great start to the day” when in fact it was high in added sugar.

Nestlé UK ran an ad on Asda’s own-brand milk labels featuring the character stirring a cup of the drink underneath the strapline “For a great start to the day!”

The Children’s Food Campaign complained to the Advertising Standards Authority that the promotion, particularly the use of the bunny character and the “great start” claim, encouraged poor nutritional habits in children.

Nestlé denied the accusation, saying the bunny was not the main focus of the ad and it had been “carefully designed to convey a physically active, energetic character who could promote a healthy lifestyle”.

The food company added that the strapline “For a great start to the day!” did not encourage excessive consumption but highlighted Nesquik as a potential breakfast option for the whole family to be considered alongside other breakfast foods.

Nestlé admitted that three teaspoons of Nesquik combined with 200ml of milk contained 20.2g of sugar, although 9.6g of that would come from using semi-skimmed milk.

The ASA said the strapline did appear to be a claim that Nesquick was a healthy option to start the day.

Health claims are only allowed to be made under the advertising code if they are accompanied by verified evidence, which the Nesquik ad was not.

The ASA said the combination of the Nesquik cartoon rabbit and the health-based strapline suggested the product was suitable as a “regular breakfast option” for children.

“Because the product was high in added sugar, we considered that the suggestion that Nesquik was a suitable regular breakfast option for children encouraged poor nutritional habits in children and the ad therefore should not have appeared at all,” said the ASA.

Nestlé said it was “disappointed” with the ruling.

It said: “We wholeheartedly believe that ‘For a great start to the day!’ is an appropriate statement. However, we always listen to concerns when they are raised.

“Therefore, as a responsible manufacturer and to remove any ambiguity in future, we will no longer use the statement in our UK advertisements and are actively looking for solutions to help us reduce sugar.”

Asda said that it had no part in creating or approving the ad which ran across its own brand milk as it had been provided directly to its supplier by Nestlé.

An Asda spokeswoman said: “We respect the ASA’s decision and will work with our suppliers to ensure the ruling is adhered to in future marketing.”

Malcolm Clark, co-ordinator of the Children’s Food Campaign, said this is the second time the organisation has lodged complaints about Nesquik promoting products to children.

“Nesquik’s old bunny hasn’t yet learned new healthier tricks,” he said. “It is the second time in almost as many years that we have forced Nesquik to change their advertising because it encouraged poor nutritional habits in children and could be seen to mislead parents about the health benefits of such a sugary product.”

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