Well, they did shoot themselves in the foot, but now how they'd 
intended.  The iconography used in the ad to suggest formula use (as 
opposed to follow-on milk, which is allowed in advertising here) was so 
overwhelming, that people complained in their hundreds that it was a 
formula ad.  OFCOM took on board the comments and asked Wyeth for an 
explanation.  Wyeth still haven't responded to OFCOM's satisfaction, and 
the complaints are all still pending.  So they have too effectively 
suggested 'formula', and in doing so, revealed the dangers of allowing 
all this "follow on milk" nonsense.

I _suspect_ this is the basis of the news article about actual 
legislation coming in (as opposed to following Code voluntarily).  
However, there have been no other reports of such a law coming in, and 
nothing has appeared via Baby Milk Action, or Mike's Blogspot... so on 
that, it's swallows and summers.  Wait and see.

The response to the ad appeared to have some effect, as the edits that 
then when out, cut out many of the more obvious images and suggestions.  
Although as the ad was built around Dad's sharing "night feeds", the 
link to formula was inescapable - as was the images of a baby much 
younger than six months old.  You don't 'night feed' with follow-on 
milk, in the ethos they've built up to make advertising it okay.

But, in the world of formula marketeering, it is entirely possible that 
the edits were part of the plan anyway: hit them with a dodgy advert, 
saturate them and then back off with less obvious construction in the 
smaller repeat ads.  It is standard advertising practice to make a 
single long advert, usually with a narrative, and show it a few times 
and then cut it down into segments for wider, cheaper, distribution.  
The shortest version is still running. 

The advert had a huge postivie response in other sections of the 
population, who fell for all the 'saving Mum' images hook, line and sinker.

 Now you know why I was awaiting my hand to burst into flames when I had 
to go buy sterile liquid product from this company last weekend.... if 
you hear of a spontaneous combustion incident in Bedfordshire at some 
point this week, you'll know who (and why) it was!  :-)

Morgan Gallagher


Nina Berry wrote:
> Heather Welford Neil said, 
> "Maybe it will backfire on them.  I would love to see the figures."
> I bet it won't.  In my study of undergrad marketing texts, I have discovered
> that these campaigns undergo extensive testing before they are released.
> The expense associated with such a campaign demands that it works - the
> first time.  If they are using a strategy like this, you can be fairly
> confident it will work amongst those whose money (loyalty) they really want.
> Nina Berry
> Australia

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