Myths in advertising: what many still believe and is no longer true
Advertising naturally promises a lot. However, many of the promises are just myths. However, many consumers have heard statements about certain products so often that they still believe them. In this article we clear up the most persistent myths that still hold.
Advertising myths: Children's chocolate for an extra portion of milk
- "For children there is children's chocolate with an extra portion of milk" - this advertising slogan has made generations of parents think that they would really do something good for their offspring if they gave him chocolate to snack on.
- In the meantime, the slogan has disappeared. No wonder: fat, sugar and milk powder are not a healthy diet for children.
- However, the brand has burned itself so firmly into consumer memory that today it is enough to say in advertising that chocolate was part of our happy childhood.
Stray advertising: when the immune system has breakfast
- In the past, Actimel advertising made little sense in that it followed a certain logic: when you drink the product, it activates your immune system.
- It sounded good, but it was not true: since 2012 advertising has been banned, probiotic yoghurts would strengthen the immune system.
- The product is now being advertised with the slogan "The little breakfast for my immune system". From a legal perspective, this is not a problem. After all, the statement that the immune system has breakfast is so strange in itself that the judiciary has no objection to it.
Advertising myths: chewing gums save brushing your teeth
- Chewing gum stimulates saliva production and thus supports dental care if the chewing gum is sugar-free.
- For years, however, the advertising suggested that chewing gum could clean the teeth with microgranules after eating and thus replace brushing.
- Since this is simply not true, it was also prohibited in 2012 to become one.
According to advertising, the brain starts up faster with glucose
- Sweets are popular, but consumers always have a guilty conscience: we simply know that snacking is unhealthy and makes you fat.
- If the advertising promises that a candy brings more performance and power, the guilty conscience disappears faster - we are actually doing something good for it.
- Sometimes, however, the advertising is so exaggerated that even commercials had to be withdrawn. This is what happened at Dextro Energy, whose slogan promised to go straight into the blood and brain, to help us "very quickly with our thinking".
Who doesn't trust a monastery woman?
- Klosterfrau Melissengeist has been on the market for decades. "Modern, critical and health-conscious people" allegedly trusted the "wisdom of nature".
- Thanks to 13 selected medicinal herbs, the natural drink should help with inner restlessness and nervousness. The fact that Klosterfrau Melissengeist actually calms is less due to the herbs than to the 79 percent alcohol by volume.
- For comparison: vodka has between 30 and 50 percent alcohol by volume. So you can simply drink a schnapps or two instead of Melissengeist.
Legal consumer deception: bag soup without flavor enhancer
- Knorr packet soups are available with the imprint "Good taste is our nature". That sounds good and healthy. Unfortunately, it is a half-truth if the manufacturer promises that its products do not contain any flavor enhancers.
- Glutamate is probably one of the best known flavor enhancers and has a bad reputation. With the reference "Naturally without flavor enhancing additives" it is worth taking a look at the list of ingredients, in the second place of which yeast extract can already be found.
- Yeast extract contains glutamate and is definitely a flavor enhancer. However, it does not have to be identified as such since the glutamate was not isolated. Glutamate is not harmful to health, but a bag soup with the main ingredients salt and flavor enhancer cannot really be credibly described as a natural diet.
When advertising is reformulated: normal instead of bloated belly
- Similar to Actimel, Activa also had to adjust its advertising strategy a little: how often a relieved woman flickered on the screen, who finally got rid of her bloated stomach thanks to the yoghurt.
- Since probiotic yogurt has no demonstrable influence on the intestinal flora, a new formulation had to be found here.
- Now the consumer is no longer promised a flat stomach, but well-being - and you need that to be "normal". The slogan "normal is to feel good" suggests exactly that.
Advertising myth at its peak: Slim through coffee enjoyment
- Some coffee manufacturers advertise that their product supports fat burning and ensures a negative energy balance.
- This type of advertising for coffee has been banned since 2012. The reason: caffeine in coffee stimulates digestion and curbs appetite, but these effects are minimal.
- In order to achieve the effect promised in advertising, you would have to drink large amounts of coffee - and that would be unhealthy.
In the next article we take a closer look at drinking myths about water: in the check we reveal what is really true.