
Message Modification
IDFA shifts weight on campaign to more closely follow federal guidelines.
The dairy
industry has agreed to modify the message within its national generic
marketing programs to be more aligned with what the 2005 Dietary Guidelines
say about dairy and weight.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) noted these efforts
in a letter last month to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
(PCRM), an animal-rights group that opposes any meat or dairy products in
the diet, in response to a petition filed by PCRM in 2005.
“This doesn’t mean we’re pulling
anything from the market. We’re on track in evolving our
‘healthy weight’ messaging, so consumers won’t see any
dramatic changes in the campaign,” says Tom Nagle, IDFA senior vice
president. “We like the dietary guidelines [which recommend at least
three daily servings of dairy], but they don’t include new
science.”
The shift is purely to be consistent with the message
presented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in its new nutrition
guidelines, since they are both “government speech,” as
checkoff programs were declared to be in recent Supreme Court rulings.
“We haven’t pulled any ads. The campaign
is moving forward and we’re excited about the direction,” says
Susan Ruland, IDFA vice president of communications. “And it has
nothing to do with the substantiation [of weight loss claims]. The science
is there. The message is truthful — the government has always
thoroughly reviewed everything we’ve done.”
MilkPEP marketing messages have always been subject to
“a vigorous scientific and legal review process,” the same that
applies to food marketers,” Nagle notes, and the dairy campaign was
never accused of violating those standards.
In a joint statement regarding the evolution of dairy
and weight messaging, issued last month by the Milk Processor Education
Program (MilkPEP) and Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), the organizations stand
behind their weight-loss messages and the science supporting those
messages. “There’s a strong body of scientific evidence
demonstrating a connection between dairy and adult weight loss. All of our
messages and campaign elements are always thoroughly reviewed and approved
by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees dairy
industry-sponsored campaigns,” the statement says. “At the
request of the USDA, we are shifting these elements in our campaigns to
emphasize the role of dairy in weight maintenance. The shift aligns its
healthy weight messages with what the 2005 U.S. Dietary Guidelines for
Americans say about dairy and weight.”
The Dietary Guidelines recommend three daily servings
of low-fat or fat-free milk, cheese or yogurt. The guidelines also state
that adults and children should not avoid milk and milk products because of
concerns that these foods lead to weight gain. Exploring the connection
between dairy and weight management remains a major nutrition research
platform, and the organizations say they will continue to report new
developments.
This marketing shift applies only to the generic
campaigns from MilkPEP and DMI, not branded processors. IDFA says its
marketing department will provide members with further information soon on
this topic.
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