Nutella to Pay $3 Million - Deceptive Ad

[otohara]

I sent an e-mail to the SEC over a year ago to investigate this ad too.

It's a candy bar in a jar...delicious, but not healthy - Justin's is a healthier choice.

Remember that California mom who sued Nutella maker Ferrero over misleading advertising that made the addictive and gooey chocolate-hazelnut spread seem healthy?

Well, her lawsuit was awarded class action status, and the New York Daily News reports that Ferrero has agreed to settle for $3 million. That works out to be about $4 a jar or less, if you're thinking of making a claim.

Quick recap: as we reported on the Shots blog last year, the trouble began when Athena Hohenberg realized that the Nutella she'd been feeding her 4-year-old daughter was "the next best thing to a candy bar," according to court documents. Hohenberg says she was taken in by ads and product labels that claimed Nutella was "healthy" and "part of a balanced meal." When friends eventually pointed out Nutella's high sugar and fat content, she sued Ferrero for deceptive advertising.http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/04/26/151454929/nutella-maker-may-settle-deceptive-ad-lawsuit-for-3-million

[elleng]

1. DARN!

You mean its NOT good for me???

[gateley]

4. No, elleng, and Wonder Bread doesn't build strong bodies 12 ways, either. :-) nt

[elleng]

6. Oh gate, I knew THAT!

Dad wouldn't allow Wonder Bread in the house!!!

[SwampG8r]

28. if you take a slice

of wonder bread and float it in water
it swells up but never disintegrates
homemade bread melts after a few minutes
just turns to dust
not wonder bread

[mikeytherat]

31. Wonder Bread - used by plumbers as a plug on small water pipes when doing repairs.

Seriously!

http://www.hatchomatic.com/2012/01/13/wonderbread-a-plumbers-best-friend/

mikey_the_rat

[SwampG8r]

34. omg i went to plumbing school

back in the early 80s and they told us that exact thing
i forgot it until now
lol

[gateley]

51. My mom fell for it hook, line and sinker. Or more probably, succumbed

to my brother and me falling for the commercials and insisting she buy it. I swear every kid in my class brought sandwiches made with Wonder Bread.

[hootinholler]

37. I often wonder if it's bread n/t

[Blue_Tires]

27. ???

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This lawsuit and settlment are clearly an illusory ruse concocted by the anti-Nutella crowd

Nutella promotes peace, freedom and general happiness (in addition to tasting great) so it clearly has no place in the impending One World Shadow Government takeover...

[elleng]

39. !!!

[soleft]

47. No more Nutella and bacon sandwiches for me.

[lunasun]

2. I have seen that commercial

It always wants to make me barf

No kidding! Cuz I know what nutella is and its not for breakfast....

[gateley]

5. Candy bar in a jar is a great description. nt

[elleng]

8. One of the favorite memories

for me and daughters was on a trip we took to Europe 10? years ago. Hungry after walking around Genoa, in our room with fresh croissants and NUTELLA!!! We'll never forget it!

[progressoid]

12. Oh god yes.

Or crepes with Nutella made by street vendors in Paris.

Yummmmm!

[leftynyc]

21. Heaven

No trip to Paris is the same without it. Nutella is everywhere. Also on the Greek Islands.

[SwampG8r]

29. i would buy that

who wouldnt want a candy bar in a jar?
peanut butter and candy bar sammiches for everyone!!!11!!

[RebelOne]

62. True. I use it over ice cream.

I love that stuff, but use it very sparingly, 'cause I know how unhealthy it really is.

[roody]

3. After I read the ingredients,

I was through with Nutella forever. Second ingredient palm oil---wrong on many levels.

[lunasun]

7. It is a lot of fat and sugar but only some nut butter in it

According to the product label, the main ingredients of Nutella are sugar and vegetable oils (mostly palm oil[, followed by hazelnut, cocoa solids, and skimmed milk.

In the United States, Nutella contains soy products too

About50% of the calories in Nutella come from fat (11 g in a 37 g serving, or 99 kcal / 200 kcal)
and about 40% of the calories come from sugar (20 g, 80 kcal)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutella

nut butter is good w/o sugar soy palm milk etc.IMO

[GoCubsGo]

15. You can make your own without palm oil.

That way, you don't have to be through with it. Here is one of many recipes for homemade Nutella out there: http://leitesculinaria.com/78672/recipes-homemade-nutella.html


I think this lawsuit was ridiculous. Don't people know how to read labels?

[truebrit71]

20. It's ridiculous? The ad says one thing, the label says another, but the lawsuit is ridiculous?

Not so much. The law suit is spot-on imho.

[GoCubsGo]

24. Yes. It IS ridiculous.

Half the fucking ads on TV are BS. Should we sue over those, too, because people are too lazy to read the labels? Why not just not buy the damn product? Does this really warrant taking it to court?

[otohara]

30. Have YOu Seen The Ad?

from the get go, it says Nutella is a healthy choice for your kids. The entire ad is based on it being healthy, when clearly it's not.

Do people kids read labels? No, no they don't.

This is a good thing.

[mikeytherat]

33. The most recent ad has the kids bouncing off the walls, tearing the place apart, running in circles

My first thought was, "Maybe you should ease off on the Nutella, mom."

mikey_the_rat

[GoCubsGo]

46. It's not up to the kids to read the labels.

It's up to their parents. What their kids eat is THEIR responsibility, and that includes reading the label on whatever they buy to feed their children.

[joeglow3]

49. Define "healthy" and "choice"

If it is healthier than peanut butter, than the ad seems reasonable. Anyone who sees the ad and thinks it is a healthy alternative to celery is a fucking idiot. If it is in fact a healthy alternative to peanut butter (which is its competition), they it seems to be a reasonably accurate description.

Now, I have not looked at the label, so if it is NOT a healthier alternative the peanut butter, then it could very likely be deceptive.

Finally, settling does not prove anything. Companies settle all the time because, even if they win, the publicity of a trial can cost you a LOT more.

[laundry_queen]

52. Okay, I had to look

I have both in my house at the moment.

Per tbsp, compared to Peanut butter (plain, smooth Kraft) Nutella has 2 g less fat (0.5g more saturated fat); 10 more calories; 1mg more cholesterol; 65 mg less sodium; 7g more carbs (10g more sugar); 1 gm more fibre; 2 gm less protein.

Not a huge difference to peanut butter, except for the sugar (more) and sodium (less).

[GoCubsGo]

56. My guess...

...is that they based the "healthy" part on the fact that they don't add any preservatives to it, or hydrogenated oils that most peanut butters contain. The exceptions being "natural" styles. And, in that regard, Nutella IS healthier. Hydrogenated oils, a.k.a. "trans-fats" are NASTY. and heavily contribute to vascular disease.

[otohara]

58. Ask Nutella, Their Claim, Not Mine

They've dropped the health claim, that's good enough for me.

My choice is Justin's Hazelnut Butter - 7 grams of sugar, vs Nutella's 21 grams.

[truebrit71]

40. So if a car company advertises that it gets 100 mpg...

...and I buy the car based on that fact, even if the true number was disclosed in the tiny, tiny print in the car manual, and subsequently find out that it only gets 20 mpg, if I sued that would be ridiculous too?

There's a difference between BS and blatant false representation...

You should not LEGALLY be able to say my product is 'X' when in fact it is the OPPOSITE of 'X'.

The fact that I have to argue in favour of this on a "liberal" website is alarming...

[joeglow3]

50. What if the car company says it is better for the environment?

What if it IS better for the environment than the average car, but is MUCH worse than public transportation or riding a bike, is it being deceptive?

[GoCubsGo]

55. So, people are supposed to make their purchasing decisions based solely on advertising?

If you want to buy a car based on an ad, without checking Consumer Reports, JD Power, DOE fuel efficiency reports, etc., then yes, suing the car company would be ridiculous, IMO. The information is out there, and easily accessible to all. That includes nutritional and ingredient labels on food products. I would rather see people exercise consumer savvy than run to court complaining that they were snookered--even though the facts were right in front of their faces. It shocks me that people automatically believe everything they hear or read, without bothering even read labels or check facts.

[truebrit71]

59. "It shocks me that people automatically believe everything they hear or read.."

"... without bothering even read labels or check facts."

Hi, my name is TrueBrit, I live in the United States of America, which foreign country do you live in??

[GoCubsGo]

60. Sad, ain't it?

Instead of teaching critical thinking skills, and encouraging people to check their facts before acting, we just solve everything by running to court.

[otohara]

61. I mentored A young girl

They chose me because she wanted to lose weight, she was 11 at the time and obese. I taught her to read labels, told her McD's was a no,no!. Her grandma kept buying Twinkies. Her mom was a frequent visitor to McDonalds. Twinkles and McD's won!
Nutella really pushed the healthy claim to poor folks who don't read labels!

[Meiko]

19. Oh good grief!

I didn't know that. I have never eaten it and it looks like I won't be starting anytime soon.

[renate]

9. there's a label, for heaven's sake

I assume there was no accusation that the label was incorrect. If this were about advertisements for fast food, for which you have to go out of your way to get actual nutrition information, that'd be one thing, but this lawsuit was stupid.

[LadyHawkAZ]

11. That was my thought too

anyone who has ever taken a bite of the stuff should have known it was overloaded with sugar without even looking at the label. I used to use it to make desserts with, because it was too sweet for anything else.

[CBGLuthier]

16. Exactly

A misleading ad? Oh Heavens!!

If you can not be bothered to read the label then you have no one to blame but yourself.

[HappyMe]

23. I agree.

Good grief, what a ridiculous lawsuit.

[4th law of robotics]

57. But the ad didn't specifically advise people to avoid this protect

and after buying some nutella the company didn't send representatives to their house to read through the ingredients and health facts with them to make sure they were making informed decisions.

How can people be expected to function when they are merely provided with all necessary information but not someone to read and interpret it for them?

[otohara]

64. McDonalds Doesn't Claim to Be Healthy

Nutella was - but NO MORE.

The entire ad was based on it being a healthy choice.

Not a stupid lawsuit, what's stupid is to assume people in this country will read labels after they just heard umpteen times how healthy it is for your kids. You're pretty much saying that poor and illiterate families should gamble on healthy food choices based on possible false advertising.

[grasswire]

10. YES!

That advertising has always bothered me.

Keep that sugary stuff out of the kids' breakfast, please.

[Meiko]

13. That

would be up to the parents don't you think. Take a look at a box of cereal when you get a chance, some are pretty grim.

[Vinca]

14. I'd never tasted Nutella until a couple of months ago when there were samples at the grocery store.

They had it spread on little pieces of bread. My very first thought was that it would be great heated up on ice cream, but it didn't belong on bread. In any case, it's nothing I would ever buy.

[Snake Alchemist]

17. Next you'll be telling me that cocoa puffs aren't good for me.

This is why we can't have nice things.

[lapislzi]

32. Froot Loops are better because they have fruit in them.

Everybody knows that.

[Snake Alchemist]

36. That makes perfect sense. nt

[Spike89]

54. Actually filled with froot(TM)

Froot is a trademarked substance consisting of equal parts sugar, food dye, and sometimes lemur dung. Any confusion arising from the similarly pronounced seed-bearing objects growing on trees and bushes is purely intentional.

[chrisa]

45. .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?src_vid=mzhVAJOHgQo&annotation_id=annotation_981716&feature=iv&v=Yu4YoiAnR1w#t=5s

[rhett o rick]

18. I would be interested in the details. How much of the settlement do lawyers get?

How does a consumer have to prove they qualify for a piece of the settlement? How much is the settlement per person?

A lot of these class action suits are scams. Let's say a company defrauds consumers to the tune of $100 million dollars. The class action lawyers and company lawyers are happy to settle for $20 million settlement. The suing lawyers get $10 million for doing a little research and negotiating from $100 million to $20 million. Not a bad pay day. The consumers may get a few dollars if they have the proof needed to qualify (some times very difficult). Or they may get a coupon for 5% off their next purchase. So of the $100 million dollars defrauded from the consumers, the corporation gets to keep 80% off the top, the lawyers get 10% for doing very little and the consumers get squat. Also, that money unclaimed by consumers (which I am guessing is a lot because of the trouble required for next to nothing), the corporations of course get to keep. Looks like a win-win if you exclude the consumers.

[otohara]

22. Local News Said

it works out to about $4.00 per person who takes the time to send a letter claiming you thought it was healthy.

It more a victory in false advertising vs class action.

[Horse with no Name]

25. I'll take my portion of the lawsuit

in Nutella. You can keep the money.

[sendero]

26. As much as I am for responsible advertising.

.... I'm for responsible parenting even more. "Healthy" is a subjective term. Any moron could look at the Nutritional Facts on this product and see that calling it healthy would be a huge stretch.

Check the label before you eat something. Be thankful that these labels are required at all.

[Codeine]

35. If the idiot mom was too stupid to read the label of what she's

putting inside her child's body then she's going to need far more help than a lawsuit can provide.

I don't give our kids anything without reading a label. Nutella is practically fucking cake frosting.

[redqueen]

38. I know many people are enjoying the opportunity to mock and scorn, but its not a stupid lawsuit.

Yes, reading labels and learning to understand the information there is important.

However, false advertising is a separate issue.

I'm sure this will be lost on those more interested in playground insults.

[ctaylors6]

41. +1

[trotsky]

42. I agree with you.

Well put. Companies need to be reminded they are not above the law.

[truebrit71]

43. I agree 100%

This isn't a case of something being "mis-leading", they are bald-faced lies. And that is illegal.

[Spazito]

53. +1 n/t

[otohara]

63. This Is A Huge Win IMO

like I said in my post, I wrote the SEC too after reading where a lady in Canada failed. I figured my e-mail would go nowhere, so I'm glad someone at the SEC took it seriously.

Nutella is huge, huge, huge around the world - and the story about it is warm and fuzzy. I bet the original recipe didn't have all the sugar and whey. They market to kids and tired parents who don't read labels, or cook.

Candy Bar in a jar!

[chrisa]

44. In America, "Cinnamon Toast Crunch" is part of a healthy breakfast too.

[Mr.Turnip]

48. Not as tasty as Nuttela though.