As written by Inga Höfener on February 20, 2011 at Consumer Goods Club Blog
The German Court of Appeal in Stuttgart prohibited a German dairy
product producer the use of the slogan “So wichtig wie das tägliche Glas
Milch” (as important as your daily glass of milk) – decision of 27
January 2011, case 2 U 61/10.
The company used the slogan to advertise a fruit curd cheese
preparation for children. A German competition association objected the
slogan as being misleading to the consumer.
The curd cheese preparation comprises the same amount of calcium as
milk but also a huge amount of additional sugar. The competition
association stipulated that parents would assume that a portion of the
sugared curd cheese preparation would replace a glass of milk.
The Court of Appeal confirmed the association’s opinion that the
slogan is misleading because of the high amount of sugar in the curd
cheese preparation. In prior decisions courts dismissed the claim
stating that the slogan is not misleading to the consumer. Consumers
would understand the product as a supplement to milk. Moreover
information on the product is available from the list of ingredients on
the product itself.
