Mead Johnson runs negative ads?

PBM Products (supplier of many store-brand infant formulas) is suing Mead Johnson for false advertising. This is the third time such an event has happened, and the two previous times, the court ruled in favor of PBM. 

According to a press release sent out by PBM Products, 

“Mead Johnson has falsely stated that only Mead Johnson’s Enfamil® LIPIL® has two fats, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and ARA (arachidonic acid), which Mead Johnson calls “LIPIL®” for marketing purposes. Mead Johnson touts LIPIL®, i.e. DHA and ARA, as promoting infant brain and eye development.

• Mead Johnson’s false advertising campaign consists of national magazine advertisements, including one which states, “[o]nly Enfamil® has LIPIL®, our blend of DHA and ARA, important nutrients found in breast milk.”
• Mead Johnson’s new direct “mailer” promotional advertisements state, “En-Fact: Enfamil LIPIL’s unique formulation is not available in any store brand.”
• Mead Johnson also includes in its print ads and on its Web site an alarming blurry picture of a child’s cartoon duck, which suggests feeding infants anything but Enfamil® LIPIL® will result in reduced vision and brain development.

These statements are literally false; in fact, PBM’s store-brand infant formulas, which are nutritionally comparable to Enfamil® LIPIL®, some virtually identical, contain the same DHA and ARA in the same amounts, sourced from the same supplier, as Mead Johnson’s Enfamil® LIPIL®. Additionally, Mead Johnson intentionally maintains its false advertising campaign and the blurry-eyed baby graphic, despite adverse rulings from the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (NAD).

Mead Johnson’s motives for misleading consumers are reported by Mead Johnson in its 2009 initial public offering documents. Mead Johnson spent nearly $300 million on world-wide advertising and product promotion in 2008. The documents go on to reveal the following:

• “…[m]any other companies, including manufacturers of private label, store and economy products, manufacture and sell one or more products that are similar to those marketed by us…”
• “…the current downturn, could cause customers to shift their purchases from our higher priced premium products to lower-priced products, including private label or store brands, which could materially adversely affect our business.”"

PBM’s store-brand infant formulas cost up to 50% less than Enfamil formulas, among other name brands. Regardless of claims by Mead Johnson, PBM’s formulas are subject to the exact same standards set forth by the US Food and Drug Administration. 

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