The UK has seen several examples of 'clever' marketing of formula in the past year or so. In the summer, Milupa ran a series of 'sponsored editorials' in The Independent, a quality newspaper, which dealt with routine babycare issues. The logo for Aptamil which adorned these articles was changed after a couple of weeks to the logo for Aptamil Forward (their follow on version) - an apparent attempt to make it 'legal'. The possibilty of legal action is still being investigated by campaigning groups, but I doubt very much if Numico (the manufacturers) are quaking in their boots. In addition, Milupa are promoting a 'breastfeeding helpline', a telephone service for consumers. To me, it looks like part of a marketing strategy to place Milupa Aptamil as an upmarket product, distancing itself from the mainstream very slightly, to make it appeal to breastfeeding mothers in particular. In the UK, bf has a defined socio-economic profile, with older, better off, better educated mothers being more likely to bf than others. Of course, the majority of them stop exclusive breastfeeding (or, indeed, any breastfeeding) before 6 months, and they are the ones being targetted by Milupa. Breastfeeding or would-be breastfeeding mothers (apparently) use formula (as opposed to ordinary cows milk) for longer than mothers who start off formula feeding, so this is a tactic that brings in long-term customers. Milupa makes the most noise about 'closest to breastmilk' and promotes to healthcare professionals *a lot* . Anecdotally, it appears that when mothers ask their midwives and others 'what formula do you recommend?' they are most likely to say 'Aptamil'. There are legal restrictions on the promotion of formula, and we don't have the issue of 'free' samples in 'gift' bags to contend with. The manufacturers do all they can to avoid or re-interpret the rules, and because it costs money to prosecute, they usually do this with impunity. In any case, even a fine is a drop in the ocean for large multi-national companies. In the UK, the only possible prosecutors are Local Trading Standards officers - the same people who fine your greengrocer for fiddling his scales so you get one less tomato in your bag, or they go after the so-called 'metric martyrs' who won't sell in kilograms - and they are limited in the amount of public money they can draw on to prepare a case. There is no national public body that can take the companies on. Heather Welford Neil NCT bfc, tutor, UK (returning to Lactnet after a few months No Mail) *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html