Last week, an alliance of consumer groups and environmental organizations in the UK called on Heinz to drop its bogus million-dollar advertising campaign that its soups contain: “ingredients that you would find at a Farmers’ Market.”  It reminded me of a similar commercial I recently saw that advertised Campbell’s soup as made from “farm-grown” vegetables – something that sounded so delicious and wholesome that even my finely-tuned (read: cynical) advertising ear almost missed the deceit. 

When it comes to attracting customers, some food companies will bend over backwards to connect their products to the current zeitgeist, even if the link is tenuous at best. Sustainweb reported:

“The mainstream food industry is keenly aware that descriptions such as ‘local’, ‘seasonal’ and ‘farmers’ market’ are attractive to consumers…disturbingly, our survey showed that such efforts are being hijacked. Big food companies and supermarkets have begun to abuse these valuable descriptions by applying them to products and practices that we believe do not deserve such ethical or environmental credentials.” 

This news is not surprising: in-the-know food consumers already understand that a happy cow on a bottle of milk does not necessarily mean the milk is ethically-sourced.  The remaining question is, when it comes to lying to customers – how far is too far?  I’d love to hear your thoughts on this issue…