Hidden price increases, fraudulent labels and misleading advertising promises: supermarket shelves are full of food items that often do not live up to their promises. Fortunately, there are independent organizations like foodwatch Austria to draw consumers’ attention to this and deter companies from being a nuisance. The NGO’s consumer advocates have now started voting for the “advertising spot of the year” for the first time. Consumers can vote online for the food industry’s most annoying marketing gimmick and the winner will be ‘awarded’.
Both EU food law and Austrian food law state that consumers must not be misled by advertising or the packaging of products. The reality is different, foodwatch Austria knows. The NGO has set itself the task to expose abuses in food marketing. People need to be made aware of this, companies are confronted with the criticisms and asked to make the products more consumer-friendly.
For the first time, the winner of the year is sought among the “advertising-abusing traders”.
Since April 2022, foodwatch Austria has also chosen the “Advertiser of the Month” and is now looking for the winner of the year among the “Advertisers” for the first time. For the “advertising joke of the year”, 5 products were selected from the ongoing “awards” of the past months, which, according to the NGO, are “examples of nasty marketing practices”.
Fruit gum bunnies, which instead of the promised “purely natural” are full of additives, a sugar water for children, an oil that is not so red-white-red, a popular chocolate, have a chance to win the title “Werbeschmau of the year”, which is rewarded for the first time with a huge price increase with the bulk packaging, and last but not least a popular drinking powder with less content but a higher price.
The winner gets an outrageous prize
Which of the candidates do you think has the most annoying marketing ploy in the food industry? Cast your vote: Voting for “Advertising Smack of the Year” runs until December 6 and the winner will be “awarded” by foodwatch Austria in mid-December. Go here to vote.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
