Liqui Fruit ordered to drop 'Nothing But Fruit' slogan over misleading claims
Liqui Fruit has been ordered to drop its “Nothing But Fruit” slogan after the Advertising Regulatory Board’s appeals committee found it misled consumers
Image: Liqui Fruit
Liqui Fruit has been ordered to drop or amend its “Nothing But Fruit” slogan after the Advertising Regulatory Board’s appeals committee found it misled consumers by claiming the juice contains only fruit, despite additives.
The watchdog's decision comes after a consumer complaint challenged the slogan, arguing it was misleading because the juice contains added ingredients like flavourants and preservatives, despite claiming to be purely fruit.
Liqui Fruit had argued that its use of “Nothing But Fruit™” was a long-established brand trademark used in a hyperbolic sense, and that a reasonable consumer would not interpret the phrase literally in the context of a long-life fruit juice.
"In relation to 'Nothing But Fruit™', the Advertiser explained that the term is a long-established brand trademark which is used in the hyperbolic 1 Act 68 of 2008. 2 Act 119 of 1990. 4 sense. A reasonable consumer would not interpret this literally in the context of a long-life fruit juice," the watchdog said.
"On the truthfulness issue, the Advertiser denied any use of the phrase “Sourced From Local Farms” in relation to Liqui Fruit, noting that the evidence cited was linked to another one of its products, Ceres. To the extent that the Advertisement made reference to local sourcing, it was only to confirm the Advertiser’s general commitment to local procurement, subject to commercial and quality conditions".
The watchdog upheld Liqui Fruit’s right to label its product as “100% fruit juice,” acknowledging that minimal, legally permitted additives do not negate this claim.
However, it ruled that the “Nothing But Fruit” slogan was misleading and must be removed or amended across all advertising platforms.
"The Advertiser is instructed to remove or amend the claim 'Nothing But Fruit' from its Advertisement and to withdraw the term from every medium in which it appears, in accordance with Clause 15.5 of the Procedural Guide of the Code"
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