Getting Back to the Basics
The column below, one of our occasional examinations of new or different products and services, features products from beer to vinegar, going all the way back to basics.
It’s getting even harder to judge product claims. The regulations that protect us from misunderstandings may also give us language we can’t understand.
Take non-alcoholic beer, reportedly the fastest-growing, even the only growing segment of the beer market. “Non-alcoholic” means no alcohol, right? No. It does have alcohol, but only a little--up to 0.5%, or about a tenth the alcohol in the average regular beer.
This is regulatory language, or reg-speak, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Malt beverages containing no alcohol, i.e. truly non-alcoholic liquids, are “alcohol-free.” Malt beverages containing less than 0.5% alcohol are non-alcoholic. Malt beverage products containing less than 2.5% alcohol are low alcohol or reduced alcohol.
Speaking of product claims, the FTC provides a continuing vision of the range of diet promotions, which may be scientific-sounding or plain absurd, but basically are all the same.
In one recent case, the FTC charged Los Angeles-based Spanish Telemarketing Industries, among others, with false advertising for promoting something called the “Faja Fantastica” (fantastic belt) on TV nationwide. “Lose those extra pounds and inches!” went the pitch, which recommended rubbing on a “fat-removal cream” and donning a 6-inch-wide nylon-covered rubber belt for the magic to start. Guaranteed to work “night or day,” without diet or exercise.
Somewhat more sophisticated were Schering Corp.’s claims for its Fibre Trim, which the FTC also challenged, upheld now by a judge’s order. According to the FTC, Schering advertised that the product was high fiber and an effective appetite suppressant for weight loss or weight maintenance. But Schering’s ads apparently overstated the fiber content by 71% and implied that Fibre Trim alone helped reduced calorie intake, with no mention of needing to diet.
The Faja Fantastica folks have just settled with the FTC without a fight. Schering, however, denied that statements such as “takes the edge off hunger” and “helps you control your appetite” made any claim of suppressing appetite. Schering also said its ads didn’t always mention the need to reduce caloric intake while taking Fibre Trim because its audience already knew that.
Both made weight control sound impossibly easy. Schering’s was more subtle, but personally, I like the belt.
For nervous parents who haven’t already bought everything, Beech-Nut is introducing Baby’s First Water--”pure spring water” for diluting infant formula and juice, mixing with cereals, or just serving (chilled?). It taps into prevailing concerns: Even with relatively safe public water supplies, we’ve all boiled and bottled water for our babies.
Baby’s First Water is so far available only in the West and Northeast, and at more than $1 a liter, it’s for the Perrier crowd. It also contains fluoride, which the label says is “important to your baby’s developing teeth,” and a Beech-Nut spokesman backs that up by invoking the names of the American Dental Assn., the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentists.
Not so fast. All three recommend fluoride from birth to teens, but only if a community doesn’t fluoridate its tap water enough. Many communities do, particularly in urban centers where this product will probably sell best. In fact, depending on the level of fluoridation, more fluoride could cause fluorosis, staining the very teeth one tried to strengthen. “In my opinion,” says Dr. John Bogert, executive director of the pediatric dentists’ organization, “it’s a medication and should be used on professional advice.”
Anyone whose tap water is fluoridated, by the way, can boil and bottle it without destroying the fluoride. Back to basics. . . .
H. J. Heinz Co. is also taking us back to basics, perceiving a continuing devotion to vinegar for cleaning almost everything. The only national vinegar brand, it’s introducing vinegar just for cleaning to four mid-country test markets. It is not just plain old vinegar: Why leave well enough alone? Heinz Cleaning Vinegar has twice the acid content of regular vinegar (10% instead of 5%) and a lemon scent.
Unlike other cleaning agents, it’s yucky but not dangerous if swallowed, and causes less harm to brooks and ground water. Basics being more expensive when one adds lemon, double strength and a spray top, it does cost more than plain vinegar ($1.29 suggested retail for 16 ounces versus about 75 cents for the plain stuff) but a lot less than most cleaning agents.
The current wisdom is that the ‘90s will be a decade of down-sizing, pulling in, cutting down, i.e. more going back to basics. Some see it in fashion and the fading of couture. Even Giorgio Armani will offer a lower-priced spread (80% under $100) through a chain of A/X: Armani Exchange stores, following about a dozen other designers who’ve gone moderate.
Some see it in retailing, from the growth of those off-price outlet malls to the fading of carriage trade stores. After all, even the Trumps shop Kmart these days.
More power to the vinegar.
