Slim-Fast Discontinues Snack Advertorial Content After Ad Board Ruling

Slim-Fast Foods Co. has ended its “100 Calories Snacks” advertisements appearing in Star magazine after the advertising industry’s self-regulation investigative unit, the National Advertising Division, determined that the format of the ads could mislead consumers into believing they were part of the publication’s editorial content. The cover of Star featured “what appeared to be an article on weight loss that claimed, ‘Joann LOST 40 lbs’ and ‘snack away the weight,’” which directed readers to a page with a piece titled “Snack Your Way to Slim” that detailed three women’s efforts to lose weight and how Slim-Fast snacks supposedly helped. Slim-Fast has reportedly agreed to discontinue the advertisements at issue as well as the advertising format.

Issue 626