I just read my latest copy of Marketing (May 12) and came across your full-page Health Check ad on p. 16. After all the hoopla about Health Check on the CBC show Marketplace, and the criticisms it has received in print media, I still don’t understand why it isn’t made very clear within the ad that companies pay to be a part of the Health Check program? Transparency is hugely important in advertising and, when interviewed again and again, consumers say they had no idea the Health Check symbol equated to paid participation.
I believe this information is the right of Canadians to know; not revealing it smacks of deceptive advertising. Yes, these foods are chosen by Canadian dietitians. But unless I’m mistaken, these are paid participation foods. So, what about the smaller boutique foods that can’t afford to participate? It’s obvious that on the store shelves they will lose out, and the Health Check products will reign supreme. When interviewed on TV, that’s what consumers assumed. When given two foods in the same category, they thought they were doing best for their family by reaching for the Health Check food.
As one of the hundreds of posted comments on the CBC Marketplace website read: “When I first saw the logo in my grocery store, I thought it was a great idea and would make my shopping easier. When I saw the logo on frozen french fries, I began to doubt. Then, I started looking at other items that had the Check: canned soups, frozen dinners, etc., and when I read the list of ingredients-high-sodium content, high-sugar content, high in saturated fats-I gave up on the system. When I watched your program and found out that money was being paid for inclusion in the program, my level of disappointment with the association rose. I certainly hope that the association rethinks their guidelines if they want to retain credibility.”
Why is this not made clear in the advertising so consumers have all the facts at hand? Could it be that this program is just too good a fundraiser for the Heart and Stroke Foundation to truly reveal the nature of the campaign? If I am completely misinformed, and was put off track by the Marketplace show, I would love to know how this campaign really works. I think it is definitely something the Advertising Council should look into.
CATHERINE WINCKLER
CREATIVE DIRECTOR, PARTNER
SWITCH INTERACTIVE, VANCOUVER
SHOW SOME RESPECT
While the Bessies were being presented (on May 15 in Toronto), at least 50% of the attendees chose not to be in the presentation hall, preferring to drop olives into their cocktails and sweet vanities into one another’s ears at the raucous bar outside the hall’s swing doors.
The irony: While we shudder at the thought of a single viewer tuning out just one of our commercials, at the Bessies, half of us tuned out our entire industry-our collective product, our winning work, the people responsible for it and those who were honoured in other ways for their lasting contributions to our collective welfare.
IAN MIRLIN
TORONTO
