Nestle and Kraft fall foul of ASB rules on advertising to kids

Tim Burrowes

October 25, 2010 11:58

The Advertising Standards Board has upheld a complaint against Nestle over its Smarties eight colours project after the ad was shown during children’s films rather than only in programming aimed at parents. It has also upheld a similar complaint against Kraft for its Oreo product.

The finding is doubly embarrassing for Nestle because the company is a signatory to the Responsible Children’s Marketing Initiative of the Australia Food and Beverage Industry, and the company’s marketing chief Ian Alwill chairs the ASB.

The company has made much of its responsible marketing credentials, issuing a press release two years ago saying it was the “first to take action”. Nestle said today that the ad’s placement had been a “violation” of its own code of advertising”.

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Tim Burrowes

Tim Burrowes is the publisher of Mumbrella and Unmade. He co-founded Mumbrella in 2008 and sister title Unmade in 2021. He's worked in the UK, Middle East, Asia & Australia and has specialised in writing about the communications world for the last 25 years. He wrote the book Media Unmade, published in 2021, and became the presenter of MediaLand on ABC Radio National in 2025.