Who doesn’t love Nutella? It’s chocolate… IN SPREADABLE FORM! I’m sure we’re all guilty of indulging in a spoon or 2 (or 5). But what if I told you it was healthy? That it was part of a nutritious and balanced breakfast, would you believe me? Well that’s exactly what mothers all across America did. Check out this ad by Nutella:

Pretty convincing right? A happy, healthy family all sitting round a table enjoying Nutella on toast for breakfast, it must be good for you! But hold on a sec, let’s take a look at the nutritional information:

Wow! 11g of fat and 21g of sugar! No way in hell is Nutella healthy. But did you really believe it was? This is where the mothers of America come into the picture. In 2012, 2 mothers attempted to sue Ferrero, the makers of Nutella, for false advertisement. They claimed that Nutella was being portrayed as a healthy food item, but they were shocked to find out that it contained high amounts of fat and sugar. There has been much debate surrounding this. While many agreed with the false advertisement claims, others had a convincing counter argument. Ferrero never actually claim Nutella itself to be healthy or nutritious. They claim it can be part of a balanced breakfast, meaning that you can eat Nutella as long as you’re having it with whole wheat bread, milk or juice, and a piece of fruit. You can see this clearly in the below screen cap of another Nutella TV ad:

The ad isn’t exactly false, but is definitely misleading. And by using families and kids, Ferrero are appealing to mothers’ affective nature and their feelings towards their children. But many have agreed that the mothers were negligent in their food choices. The ad can say whatever it wants, all you have to do is look at the back of the jar and you know Nutella isn’t healthy. Needless to say, the mothers won the lawsuit and Ferrero agreed to pay a $3 million settlement (each household could claim $20) and were ordered to make changes to Nutella’s label, TV ads, and website.

So, do you think Ferrero are being unethical in Nutella’s promotion? Or do you have to be thick as Nutella to think it’s good for you? (Sorry for the pun…)