Farmers boycott Wrigley’s after banana plaque ad
Australian banana farmers have threatened to boycott Wrigley’s products after the gum manufacturer’s latest advert suggested that the fruit rots teeth.
Eight hundred banana growers are now planning to stage a protest as Wrigley’s has refused to remove the advert from the TV.
The commercial shows the banana alongside, coffee, and doughnuts as some of the foods most likely to cause plaque build-up.
Crisis talks were held between the farmers and the gum manufacturer but nothing was resolved.
David Chenu, marketing manager at Australian Bananas, said that the commercial ”denigrated the health and nutrition benefits” of the fruit and dismissed Wrigley’s claims that bananas had been included in the ad to show a range of foods that induce plaque.
He added that no matter the intention the advert actually discouraged people from consuming bananas.
Dentists, who appear in the ad recommending to positive affect’s Wrigley’s sugar-free gum, are now taking steps to defend the fruit.
Derek Lewis, member of the Australian Dental Association oral health committee, said that someone would have to eat a large amount of bananas and not rinse afterwards for bananas to decay their teeth.
A statement from Wrigley’s said that the banana ad would return in 2010 and added that research had demonstrated that consumers perceptions of bananas as a healthy snack remained unchanged.
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