Hmmm: while we're on milupa aptamil, has anyone else received their Blooming Marvellous catalogue yet?

[Annner]

"Marvellous news! Free access to personalised pregnancy advice"

Nasty, nasty, leaflet plugging their careline. It also claims that, "we can help you make informed choices about many aspects of pregnancy, birth and parenthood".


I'm typing a letter as I type...

[Annner]

Noone else then?

OK, I'll just post my letter to them here anyway in case anyone is along later.

judy&[email protected]

27th July 2007

Dear Blooming Marvellous,

I have been an enthusiastic customer of yours since I was pregnant with my first child three years ago, both via mail order and your xxxxxxxxxxxx branch.

When your new catalogue arrived this morning I was dismayed to find inside a Milupa Aptamil leaflet advertising their Careline. I am concerned, because your brand is widely trusted by pregnant women and parents of young babies, and this type of advertising implies endorsement and contributes to the overwhelming formula feeding culture in the UK.

Although the leaflet claims that the Careline can help new mothers to make an “informed choice”, it does not state clearly that this advice is provided by a formula milk manufacturer. As such, Milupa Aptamil is no more able to provide impartial advice on infant nutrition than any other business seeking to raise their brand’s profile. This Careline may not be advertising Aptamil formula directly, (this would be illegal) but promoting their name amounts to the same thing. The fact that Aptamil is an infant formula, and that breastfeeding is best for babies is only provided in tiny print on the back of the leaflet.

The Department of Health recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, and a formula manufacturer is an inappropriate body to try to provide good breastfeeding advice. Yet Milupa’s leaflet claims that they have been “experts in infant nutrition in 50 years” How can they be, when their profits depend on women mixed or fully formula feeding? Their claim is not linked in the leaflet to their role as a manufacturer, which is a significant omission.

Mothers wanting to breastfeed are far better served by the advice and support of the The National Childbirth Trust, (www.nct.org.uk) The Association of Breastfeeding Mothers (abm.me.uk/website/index.htm) and La Leche League (www.laleche.org.uk/) all train volunteer breastfeeding counsellors who are equipped with the skills to support breastfeeding mothers through the types of problem that are often seen as “needing” infant formula, even by health care professionals. Sadly these charities can rarely afford heavily publicised carelines with employed staff – although their volunteers all offer excellent telephone advice as the real experts, with evidence based training and no profit motive.

It is no coincidence that Milupa Aptamil has decided to promote its Careline so heavily at the same time as new legal restrictions have come into force on how they advertise their product. It is a real shame that you as a trusted brand have agreed to be part of their new marketing strategy. I know that you are also a business, and need to take advertising from outside bodies, but a contribution, however indirect it may appear, to undermining breastfeeding is far removed from Blooming Marvellous’s contribution to welcoming your customers to parenthood. It would be wonderful if you could counter this by providing information in a future catalogue from one or more of the charitable organisations such as those listed above who do far more to support new parents than Milupa Aptamil ever could.

I look forward to hearing from you soon,
Yours sincerely,

etc.

[ruddynorah]

yes i got my catalogue but have to say i just shove the leaflets in the recycling, didn't even look to see what they were. if i had seen it i would have been similarily cross.

ditto with early learning centre. they eamiled me a birthday club thing about days out for kids or something. the info was actually from netmums, who have nestle as an advertiser. therefore i promptly replied to them saying no more emails thank you.

[Annner]

Not sure what happened to all of my quotation marks there!

It really seemed to be a new departure for them - from ads in magazines to inserts in catalogues, to catch those of us who don't buy parenting mags. Coupled with the thread on them earlier this week, they really seem to be upping the ante in the light of the new advertising restrictions.

Dodgy stuff.

[Annner]

and I really hated Bounty, too.

Four million leaflets and a load of bleurgh-y wipes.

Shows what a prime market we all are.

[DontlookatmeIamborrrring]

I got a cute aptamil cuddly polar bear in the post this morning

[elkiedee]

LOL re polar bear. Yes, I'm the sort of person who takes all the freebies I can too. I'm afraid I'm formula feeding but not because of marketing though, because of early failure to latch on leading to hospital intervention etc. I don't think I've ever looked at the SMA website which is what he's on - though I have to confess to getting a Cow and Gate cuddly cow.... and I quite enjoyed looking through all the Bounty packs, I can remember looking at my mum's when she had my brother and sister (I would have been 7 and then 10).

Seriously, I do recognise that there's a problem with this kind of marketing though.

[elkiedee]

An interesting anti-Milupa link

www.mcspotlight.org/beyond/companies/milupa.html

[moondog]

Good on you Anner.Nice letter.I used to like this company a lot and buy plenty from them.Shall compose my own letter and stop buying.

[Annner]

Taaeverso Moondog.

I just find this strategy sooo sinister: piggybacking BM's nice wholesome image. Coupled with Hunker's thread on their approach to HCPs it's clear to see how AM have have tackled the new restrictions on peddling their wares.

We're off to Scout camp for a week on Sunday, but I'll post any updates on my return.

[moondog]

Do you know that Aptimil advertised on MN for a short while??
There was of course a massive dingdong and powers that be eventually saw sense.
Thank God,or no way would I still be posting here.

[Annner]

Yes, I followed that one (posted little; read a lot)

Same principle and target, I felt - nice and anxious middle class mummies. Just who they are looking for.

[moondog]

Exactly.
They are rubbing their hands in glee when they have captured that sector.

[mush4brains]

will add them onto my list of people to write too & stop using them too.

[Meglet]

hurray! well done for getting onto them! Don't think its very appropriate for them to promote it with the catalogue. would be interested to know if you get a reply.