Last week the FTC told Nestlé to stop lying in its advertising for Kid Essentials, a so-called “nutritionally complete drink.” 

The ads claimed that the product protected kids from getting colds and diarrhea, and reduced absenteeism from school. Why? Because the straw enclosed with the drink was contained probiotics.

The FTC action is good news. The sad news is that it took a regulatory agency to make a major, trusted company halt an immoral practice.

Advertising is an important part of free trade. But not when it lies. There is a wide continuum between putting one's best foot forward and outright lying. To read an article I wrote taking to task marketers who push the boundaries too far, click here. 

—Steve Cuno