The Great Deception Unmasked: Top Contenders for Most Outlandish Advertising Claims of 2025
AdVERTISING LUNACIES OF 2025: Exposed Deceptions in Marketing Practices
Stirring the Pot: Consumer organization, Foodwatch, has once again taken aim at five products it claims have paid top dollar for the most outrageous advertising lies in the book. Complaint boxes are open, and it's time for consumers to strike back against daily deception and label fraud, as Foodwatch puts it.
Here are the five contenders that made the cut for this year's "Golden Windbag" award:
DirTea Glow Iced Tea by Dirtea
Hip-hop superstar Shirin David's iced tea promises a visible glow effect and flawless skin and nails, but is it all talk? Foodwatch argues that the product is nothing more than a sugar-laden beverage with an excessive amount of useless biotin and zinc. These supplements, while beneficial for skin and hair, are hardly the secret to eternal radiance or youth. Some advertising claims are even illegal, Foodwatch states.
MenstruChocbar by InnoNature
Just what does your body and soul truly need? InnoNature seems to think its high-sugar chocolate bar, MenstruChocbar, has the answer. Packed with iron, red maca, and vitamin B6, this chocolate bar promises to enhance your well-being during menstruation. However, Foodwatch isn't sold on the claim, as there is no proven scientific evidence to back it up, and safety evaluations for maca are scant.
Milka Alpenmilk by Mondelez
A cunning example of shrinkflation, Mondelez's stylish Milka Alpenmilch has been whittled down from a hefty 100 grams to a mere 90 grams, all while slapping consumers with a 48 percent price hike. It's value for money in milk chocolate paradise - except for the consumers' wallets.
Rama by Flora Food Group
Gold-star shaped chunks of margarine promising 100% natural ingredients? That seems like a stretch - according to Foodwatch. While it's true that the Rama product contains some natural ingredients on its extensive list, it's also loaded with additives and industrially produced ingredients that separate it far from the healthful, wholesome 100% natural product you may be thinking of.
Norwegian Smoked Salmon by Fish Tales
Secrecy is the name of the game for Fish Tales' "sustainable" Norwegian smoked salmon product. Bearing the ASC seal of traceability, one would expect straightforward sourcing. But, the company is mum about its supplier - except for the controversial Grieg Seafood, which may not instill confidence in consumers who prefer their fish cleanly sourced and truthfully labeled.
Lineage of Liars
The "Golden Windbag" award has a colorful history, with past winners including Danone's Actimel yogurt drink (2009) and Ferrero's milk snack (2011). In more recent years, Coca-Cola's "Smart Water" (2018), Rewe's climate-neutral chicken meat (2021), Intersnack Deutschland's "Pom-Bär Oven Minis" (2023), and Alete's "Obsties Strawberry-Banana with Yogurt" (2024) have all shared the infamous dishonor.
To lodge your own complaint about deceptive advertising, Foodwatch encourages you to head over to schummelmelder.de, the organization's web-based platform for reporting lies in advertising.
Keywords:
- Golden Windbag Award
- Deceptive advertising
- Brands
- Consumer
- Food
- Packaging
- Consumer goods
- Retail
- Scam
- Shrinkflation
- Nutrition
- Foodwatch
- In addition to monitoring deceptive advertising claims, Foodwatch also encourages consumers to report issues related to employment practices of businesses they encounter in the retail, consumer goods, and food industries, as genuine companies prioritize transparency and honesty in their community and employment policies.
- Just as Foodwatch has been tracking and exposing outlandish advertising claims, it's equally important to scrutinize the portrayal of products on social-media platforms and in books to ensure that entertainers and authors accurately represent the benefits and effects of the goods they endorse or discuss.
