KEY POINTS:
An advertisement for Simply Squeezed Chilled Orange Juice misled viewers through claims it was made in New Zealand using freshly picked oranges, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has found.
The ad showed oranges growing on a tree calling out "Pick me. No, me. Pick me," with a voiceover which said "We're pretty fussy about the fruit we choose to squeeze for our juice. Made in the Hawke's Bay...".
One viewer checked the label on a bottle of Simply Squeezed juice and noticed it did not follow the ad's claims.
"The majority is not 'simply squeezed' at all - it is made from concentrated orange juice! What's more, most of it is imported. How can they claim only the best oranges are picked for their product when in fact it arrives in barrels of concentrate?" the complainant wrote.
Simply Squeezed Holdings Ltd acknowledged that on average only 40 per cent of the juice was locally sourced but said the ad did not mislead anyone as there was a graphic which stated the product was made "using local and imported ingredients".
"We are selective over the local fruit we source. Simply Squeezed also carefully chooses the concentrate imported for the product," the company wrote.
The ASA complaints board agreed with the complainant. It said both the claim the juice was made in Hawke's Bay and that it was made from freshly squeezed orange juice were misleading and in breach of the Code for Advertising of Food
- NZPA
