Heinz has been slapped on the wrist by the Advertising Standards Authority for creating the “impression” that beans contain as much protein, fibre and fat as a typical protein shake.
The ASA has banned a TV advert featuring a man coming home after a run drinking a protein shake and talking about his new health regime. A woman takes some baked beans from the microwave and says in response: “Right. We’re just having some beans.”
The following words flash across the screen: “High in protein. High in Fibre. Low in Fat.” Then a can of Heinz Beanz is displayed with the accompanying text: “Good for you, without going on about it.”
The advert had previously been banned last year for directly claiming beans, like the protein shake, had as much protein, fibre and fat as the protein shake.
Heinz had edited the advert to remove the direct comparison, but the ASA said it still broke the rules by insinuating the comparison.
“We noted that the ad did not state that Heinz Beanz had greater or fewer nutritional benefits than the protein shake, however, we considered that the overall impression created by the ad was that Heinz Beanz contained as much protein, fibre and fat as a typical protein shake,” a spokesperson revealed.
“We considered consumers would therefore interpret the ad as presenting Heinz Beanz as a tastier and more appetising, but nutritionally equivalent, alternative to consuming a protein shake.”
HuffPost UK has contacted Heinz but the company had not responded at the time of writing.