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 The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) said on
Wednesday it had filed the complaint to the Children's Advertising
Review Unit (CARU) of the BBB National Programs, a self-regulatory
advertising industry agency, alleging the ads violated established
guidelines.
CARU's guidelines state that advertising of food products should
"encourage responsible use of the product with a view toward healthy
development of the child". It also says that such advertisements
should not "discourage or disparage healthy lifestyle choices or the
consumption of fruits or vegetables."
Kraft Heinz said the two ads referenced in the complaint were
specifically aimed at parents, not kids, and it has no plans to air
either ad beyond 2021.In a letter accompanying the complaint, the
health watchdog said a Kraft Macaroni & Cheese ad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlzoT3gZ50c
from 2019 that shows a child running away from a forkful of
vegetables, yelling "no", and then being pacified by a macaroni and
cheese bowl, with the ad ending with the tagline "for the win-win."
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 The macaroni-and-cheese ad was
repeatedly shown on children's networks
including Disney XD, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon
Network in 2019, according to CSPI.
The group also pointed to the company's Ore-Ida
french fries ad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8ZUvU_SW-I
from 2018, which it said violated guidelines, as
it encouraged parents to bribe their children
with french fries to get them to eat healthy
foods.
The health watchdog urged CARU to review Kraft
Heinz's advertising practices even as it
acknowledged that the company was planning to
discontinue these ads later this year.
(Reporting by Siddharth Cavale in Bengaluru,
Additional reporting by Uday Sampath; Editing by
Ramakrishnan M.)
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