Tricks of the Formula Milk Trade

I have been studying for my Bachelors in Nutrition for the past three years and one of my specialist areas of interest is breastfeeding. As a scientist/nutritionist I can truly appreciate the incredible benefits breastfeeding can impart for mother and child and feel I have a duty to both promote and protect it wherever I can. 

In 1981 the World Health Organisation introduced the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes. This document set out restrictions on how formula milk products could be advertised and sold to mothers and marked a significant step in protecting breastfeeding, and the lives of children whose parents were falling foul of the misleading information that often accompanied formula milk products. 

In response to these restrictions, formula milk companies have found ever more inventive ways to circumvent them by rebranding and reinventing. These attempts led, in part, to the development and promotion of follow-on milks which are allowed to be promoted under current legislation as they are not marketed as breast-milk substitutes but rather as products to be used during weaning. While there is nothing wrong with follow-on milks per se I couldn’t help but notice how they are being advertised to mothers and more so, how they are being contrasted with breastfeeding. 

Take a look at this Aptamil advert (above) and see if you can spot how they are attempting to influence consumers….

“Breast milk is the best protection for you baby and nothing compares to it” - great. I couldn’t agree more but I also couldn’t help but notice how breastfeeding is depicted in the advert during the rather cold, grey and dreary seasons of Autumn and Winter.

Notice how Aptamil’s arrival strangely coincides with Summer, open doors, a sunlit  garden and strategically placed flowers resting on the windowsill? Funny too how we’re also greeted with more intimate shots of happy baby, just as the music picks up a pace and the narrator’s voice lifts. Breastfeeding doesn’t seem so appealing anymore! 

This is just one way in which advertisers continue to influence mothers and their decisions regarding how they feed their child. The advert literally says all the right things, but it’s more what it doesn’t say that ultimately makes the lasting impression.

Make sure you’re media smart! 

All views expressed are my own and are indicative of an entire industry and not just Aptamil.