The "Golden Windbag" Award Returns: Five Products in the Spotlight for Deceptive Advertising in 2025
Deception in Advertising: Unveiling the Boldest Deceptions Expected in 2025
Swindling consumers in supermarkets continues unabated, laments Foodwatch. The consumer organization has shortlisted five nominees for its annual "Golden Windbag" award, honoring the most misleading advertising tricks of the year. Voting is open for the "boldest advertising gimmick" through mid-July 2025. Foodwatch encourages consumers to be vigilant and combat daily deception by protesting against label fraud.
Nominees in the Spotlight
DirTea Glow Iced Tea by Dirtea
Rapper Shirin David promises an ethereal glow and perfect skin and nails with her DirTea Glow iced tea, but what consumers actually receive is a beverage chock-full of added sugars. The advertised biotin and zinc are unnecessary, CAUTION Foodwatch, as they only support normal skin and hair health, much like many common foods. The organization considers specific advertising claims to be illegal.
MenstruChocbar by InnoNature
InnoNature marketing shrewdly promotes its high-sugar chocolate bar, 'MenstruChocbar,' as a panacea for all menstrual woes. Boasting iron, red maca, and vitamin B6, the product aims to improve well-being during menstruation. However, none of the claimed effects for these ingredients have been scientifically proven, and safety records for red maca are scarce.
Milka Alpine Milk by Mondelez
Mondelez is guilty of using shrinkflation tactics against consumers, according to Foodwatch. Reducing the package content from 100 to 90 grams and hiking the price from 1.49 to 1.99 euros, Milka Alpine Milk witnesses a massive 48 percent price increase.
Rama by Flora Food Group
Flora Food Group promotes its Rama margarine as a "100% natural ingredients" product, but consumers may find their expectations vastly misunderstood. In reality, the margarine contains numerous additives and industrially produced ingredients.
Norwegian Smoked Salmon by Fish Tales
Promising "sustainable" Norwegian smoked salmon, Fish Tales draws scrutiny from Foodwatch for refusing to disclose the origin of its product, although the ASC seal on the packaging guarantees "traceability back to the farm." Despite the scandal-ridden Grieg Seafood mentioned as the source, the company remains tight-lipped about the exact farm.
Past Winners
Past winners of the "Golden Windbag" award include Danone's Actimel drinkable yogurt (2009), Ferrero's milk snack (2011), and Coca-Cola's "Smart Water" (2018). Foodwatch halting consumption deception compelled Rewe to relinquish the award in 2021 for its misguided climate-neutral chicken meat advertising. In 2023, "Pom-Bär Oven Minis" by Intersnack Germany claimed the negative award, and in 2024, "Obsties Strawberry-Banana with Yogurt" by Alete joined the list of dishonorable mentions.
Suspicious consumers can submit their complaints about deceptive products on schummelmelder.de, Foodwatch's platform for documenting advertising tricks.
Sources: ntv.de, awi
The 'science' behind DirTea Glow Iced Tea's claims of promoting perfect skin and nails is questionable, as it relies on biotin and zinc which, while beneficial for normal skin and hair health, are not proven to offer extraordinary benefits. The 'health-and-wellness' purported by MenstruChocbar, InnoNature's high-sugar chocolate bar, remains unproven, particularly concerning the effects of red maca on menstrual well-being.
Despite Foodwatch's scrutiny, companies like Fish Tales continue to produce products under dubious labels, as seen with their 'sustainable' Norwegian smoked salmon, whose origin remains undisclosed despite evidence linking it to Grieg Seafood.
