Perdue Farms is appealing recommendations from the National Advertising Division (NAD) that it modify or discontinue its television and online commercials for its Harvestland Organic brand.
NAD, a unit of the advertising industry’s system of self-regulation that is administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus, stated that it found advertisements for Harvestland to be potentially misleading to consumers who might think that all Perdue chickens – not just those raised for the Harvestland Organic label – are raised using organic farming methods.
The ads in question do display the Perdue Harvestland label on the side of barns, on the screen of a tablet and in a logo at the end of the commercials, but the Perdue Harvestland Organic brand is not specifically spoken. However, in the ads, a voiceover message states: “Perdue, raising more organic chickens than anyone in America.”
“With regard to the commercial, Perdue does not believe any modification is needed, and is appealing this part of the decision within NAD,” Perdue Farms said in a statement. “As the largest producer of organic chickens in the United States, Perdue is proud of its Harvestland Organic brand. Perdue also is committed to leading the industry in changing the way that chickens are raised, and will truthfully educate consumers about its continuing innovations.”
NAD investigated the ads after the claims at issue were raised by Tyson Foods. Tyson, according to a press release from NAD, also complained of how Perdue Farms Chairman Jim Perdue stated in one of the ads that the chickens were “happy.”
NAD, in its press release, stated that Perdue submitted a consumer perception survey to support its position that the challenged advertising was narrowly and truthfully tailored to Perdue’s Harvestland Organic line of products, but NAD’s review of the survey showed that substantially more respondents took away a message about the Perdue brand, generally.
