Lucozade Sport ad banned over false health claims
The ASA banned a Lucozade Sport advert, after it received 63 complaints for breaking European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) health claims rules.
Bottled water trade body The National Hydration Council (NHC) was among those that objected to the advert that showed two groups of men, who were being monitored by lab equipment and technicians, running on treadmills.
It ended with the text ‘Hydrates and fuels you better than water’ while showing the water-drinking group collapsing in a heap and the Lucozade Sport group continuing to run with ease and celebrating.
After seeing the ad, 55% of respondents said they understood the message was that Lucozade Sport was better than water for hydration during any exercise.
An NHC survey of 2,000 consumers in February 2013, conducted by OnePoll, indicated nearly 80% of people would choose water for hydration before seeing the commercial.