Advertising of Infant Milk
August 9, 2009 by Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor
Filed under activism, products
Ever since the first artificial baby milk became commercially available in 1867, the infant formula makers have battled for market share — battled amongst themselves and battled against breastfeeding. At times it seems like breastfeeding is losing that battle in spite of a clearly superior “product” and a price that can’t be beat! Why is that? Well, when we examine why breastfeeding rates are not where we would like them to be, we can certainly look to questionable birth and hospital practices, poor breastfeeding support, and lack of proper education in the medical community. In the end though, the battle comes down to money. Formula makers invest millions of dollars in advertising and marketing each year. A 2006 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office cites annual formula company expenditures for TV, print, and radio ads of over $46 million in 2004. Add in millions more spent on marketing through the funding of conferences, sponsoring hospital gift bags, and publishing materials for the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the plain fact is that it is hard for breastfeeding to compete against that!
In 1994 the United States joined other countries around the world in signing on to the International Code for Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes which prohibits direct marketing of artificial baby milk to mothers and health care providers. Yet in 2004, the American public was bombarded with over 10,000 television and print ads in major media markets, and that figure doesn’t include the smaller markets and any radio advertising spots!
Even when the government invests money in breastfeeding campaigns to convince the public that “Breast is best” and “Babies are born to be breastfed” there is a backlash and the government gets criticized for making formula-feeding mothers feel guilty. It’s a losing battle for sure, and that’s why it is nice to see breastfeeding advertisements like this new one from the non-profit organization Best for Babes:
With a nod to the fact that breasts are “life-saving devices” the ad goes on to say:
Every day and in emergencies, breastfeeding saves lives. Planning on nursing? The right crew can make for smoother sailing. Get a support group. Get expert lactation help. Make sure your hospital, pediatrician, employer and insurer are doing their part to help you succeed. We’ll show you how at bestforbabes.org.
In addition to that breastfeeding advertising, there is also good news on the marketing front. This month 200 hospitals in the United States are replacing the formula discharge bags with “Healthy Baby Bounty Bags” that only contain items which are compliant with the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes!
These breastfeeding support sample bags contain disposable nursing pads, milk storage bags, lactation support teas and other products along with coupons for more items. Kudos to Cottonwood Kids, a promotional products company that produces custom gifts for hospitals.
Now I want one of those bags – they sound great!
And I’m really glad to see this campaign from ‘Best for Babes’ – it’s clever, current, and just what we need.
I’m finding this post ironic, given that when I viewed it in bloglines, it had an ad for Materna, an Israeli formula maker (I’m in Israel). The ad wanted to know if I wanted them to send me free samples, and it told me Materna was the closest thing to mother’s milk. aieee! The link they advertise is http://www.materna.co.il . the ad link had expired by the time I got to it.
Katherine, thank you for alerting me to that ad and for sending the link. I have asked b5media to block it. It’s possible that the ad will come back in the future (perhaps with a different link that has not been blocked) so if you do see it again and have a second to email or comment, please do let me know!
My suggestion for a new breastfeeding promotional ad or for a t-shirt slogan.
“Nothing but the breast for my baby!”
Love it!
Recently, during Discovery’s Baby week, Medela started advertising its products (and breastfeeding) on TV! I was soooo stoked to see this! However, it only runs on Discovery’s network of stations (TLC, Discovery, Discovery Health, etc.). I really wonder why Medela would not advertise in more channels? It leaves me to wonder if this is by choice on Medela’s part (not enough money in advertising budget to saturate market) OR if there is an issue because it shows a mother breastfeeding, although it is very “discreet.” Like, maybe some of the other more mainstream channels (I mean the ones that aren’t running shows like Baby Story, etc.) like ABC, CBS, NBC, etc. are saying they won’t run the commercial because of its content? Slight bit of skin showing while nursing? It is really a neat commercial (I don’t know if it runs in all areas, or just here in the Northeast), moms buying breastmilk in grocery stores, clipping coupons for breasmilk, etc. I have no information about this other than my own speculation, so of course, I could be way off base, and there is another reason entirely that that commercial or others like it aren’t crossing over into other stations. I would love to see more like it though! I have NEVER before seen a breastfeeding commercial on TV! How sad is that?
I LOVE this commercial. I’m from the midwest so it’s circulating. I never paid attention to what channel I’m on when I see it so I’ll have to do that. I’m sure it is a budget issue and trying to hit a target audience. Advertisers do try to reach certain groups at certain times. I think they could reach a lot of their target audience on the big 3 during the day.