The Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) have pulled an advertisement seen at bus stops after complaints were filed with Ad Standards, a non-profit, self-regulating advertising body. The complaints accused the campaign of misleading the public.
The ad, part of the DFC’s “Honest. Canadian. Dairy” campaign, featured the text “There are zero growth hormones in milk produced in Canada. Like, none.” An animal rights advocacy group encouraged people to write complaints, because milk contains natural growth hormones that they believe can have negative impacts on human health.
Complainants, such as Torontonian Jenny McQueen, received responses from Ad Standards, noting that the ad in question had been permanently withdrawn.
“I was very pleased that they had seen that a company is using language that is not true,” McQueen told CTV News.
A representative for Ad Standards declined to comment on the situation, noting that they only make official media statements in cases when the matter proceeds to their Standards Councils for adjudication. The DFC ad was, presumably, pulled before that occurred.
DFC told CTV News that they were aware of the claims made by the lobby group and that “the information is incomplete and inaccurate,” but did not respond to follow-up questions looking for clarification. DFC did not respond to a request for comment from Small Farm Canada.
— Matt Jones