today's AMAZING TV AD : honda's "cog" 2 minute tv spot

for more on this, go to this post : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/2008/04/cog-honda-tv-spot-another-amazing-ad.html; april 14 post.
the inspiration is mount pinatubo when some years ago, all of a sudden, after decades of being dormant, it decided to erupt, spewing debris and ash several kilometers high, blowing ashes to float everywhere, far and wide, turning the skies gloomy gray as far away as metro manila, hundreds of kilometers away, covering metro manila streets and rooftops with thick ash. the pinatubo eruption was so powerful that its ashes changed the color of sunsets not only in the philippines but also worldwide.

that's what happens when clients and advertising agencies decide to run ads not worthy to be called advertising. its dark, its huge and very irritating and unfortunately, everywhere!


all they are doing is wawam! what a waste of advertising money!


here is a first row view of Philippine Advertising and Philippine Marketing.

mount pinatubo erupts shooting ashes several kilometers high, then floating to blanket many other towns hundreds of kilometers away

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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

mead johnson's brand and corporate image hurt by product recall

the nightmare every product manager wants to avoid just happened to two of mead johnson's milk products - a recall ordered by the FDA due to not meeting fat content standard, saying it is of "inferior" quality. 

in the first place, why did mead johnson release a product that does not meet government regulation standards? that is mind boggling and most specially for a company that sells milk products for babies and children. a milk product needs to be perfect specially on the points of view of safety and quality.  these are qualities every mother expects a milk product to be. the other benefits, like making your child smart or in the case of a product of mead johnson a promise of giving 100% nutrition are the added benefits that separate the brand from others.

fernandez, a corporate affairs manager at mead johnson gave a  weak defense of his company. he said the products they were selling met the FDA standards until the FDA changed them. that does not sound like it's a good excuse. the FDA changed the standards without telling milk companies of the change? is that what fernandez is saying?  



we are thinking if standards are changed, the FDA will let the milk companies know about the change ahead of time to give the milk companies time to develop new formulas and to deplete stocks that have already been produced and already in the stores. this change in standards does not appear to be a health risk, so it makes sense for the FDA to allow the milk companies to draw down their stocks. 


perhaps someone in mead johnson forgot the deadline for the switch over to the new stamdard? maybe there are still stocks of the mead johnson products still in the market that were sold before that got caught in the deadline and were found by the FDA in the shelves. we do not know the protocol the FDA follows in the their checks but it is very possible that the FDA would pick up products from the stores to analyze them. 



we think this forgetful mead johnson employee is the real reason for this problem. fernandez in his statement says they are about to release a re-formulated product that meets the regulation. that to us means someone in mead johnson is very forgetful with the reformulation coming in too late. 


this can mean the products in question will be out of the market for sometime as they will still need to reformulate, get approval on the new formula and produce the product.


this will hurt mead johnson's market share for these products. they are hoping this will not hurt the other mead johnson brands in the market. it's a tough situation to be in, mead johnson will need to do some damage repair on its brands and the company. this is not a good thing to happen for brands and a company that sells milk products to children. let's see what they do after this event.


FDA recalls 2 Mead Johnson milk products

By Jocelyn Uy
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 19:05:00 09/21/2010
MANILA, Philippines—The Food and Drug Administration has ordered the recall from store shelves of two milk products for supposedly deficient fat level content, failing to comply with the standards.
In an order, FDA Director Nazarita Tacandong said Sustagen Junior Milk Drink Powder Vanilla Flavor and Alactagrow Bibo Trio Milk Supplement were being recalled because both failed to comply with the standard fat level content per 100 calories set by the agency.

The two milk products are manufactured by Mead Johnson Nutrition Philippines.
Under FDA standards, the required fat content for milk supplements must be between three and six grams per 100 calories.

An evaluation showed that the fat contents of Sustagen and Alactagrow were only 1.5 grams and 1.34 grams per 100 calories, respectively, "thus indisputably making the same non-compliant to the standard of inferior quality," Tacandong said.

She also advised consumers who have purchased the products to return them to the manufacturer or any of its licensed distributors.

Continuous distribution of the milk products would present "gross deception" to consumers and may "present risk and injury to young children," said the FDA order.

Reached for comment, Janryll Fernandez, Mead Johnson Nutrition Philippines corporate affairs manager, maintained that all its products sold in the country, including Alactagrow and Sustagen Junior, have passed stringent FDA health and safety requirements.

"They remain perfectly safe to consume, contrary to the language used in the order," Fernandez told the Inquirer in a phone interview Tuesday.

Fernandez noted that the FDA issued a "Class III order," the lowest level or recall order used for products that have "technical compliance issues" but do not likely to cause adverse health consequences.

In a statement, Paul Richards, the company's president and general manager, said, "safety is Mead Johnson's highest priority and the company spares no effort to comply with the laws of all of the countries in which it operates."

Fernandez added that the fat content of the two milk products were in compliance with FDA standards before it recently adopted additional Codex regulations for follow-up milk formulas.
He added that the company was already taking steps to meet the new FDA
requirements.
"Mead Johnson is releasing a reformulated version of the milk products that meet the new regulatory requirements," said Fernandez.

6 comments:

  1. Here's the latest release from Mead Johnson

    http://www.meadjohnson.com.ph/messageFromOurPresident.aspx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Safe naman daw to consume sabi ni FDA, check nyo tong link na to : http://bit.ly/cKdAg3

    ReplyDelete
  3. FDA: Recalled Mead Johnson products fit for consumption

    abs-cbnNEWS.com

    Posted at 09/22/2010 6:19 PM | Updated as of 09/22/2010 6:19 PM


    MANILA, Philippines - The 2 recalled formula milk products from Mead Johnson Nutrition (Philippines), Inc. are still fit for consumption, the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) said.

    While the products did not meet standards for the required fat level content, these “have no safety issues and therefore fit for human consumption,” FDA Acting Director Nazarita Tacandong clarified in a new order posted on the agency’s website.

    FDA on Tuesday recalled several batches of Sustagen Junior Milk Drink Powder Vanilla Flavor (for 1-3 years old) and Alactagrow Bibo Trio Milk Supplement, citing technological changes in its Code of Standards for milk products.

    FDA has recently approved a new standard for children's milk, requiring 3 to 6 grams per 100 calories fat content in milk. The recalled products contain only 1.34 grams per 100 calories.

    In a separate interview, Tacandong said the required fat level content is necessary for growing children.

    The recall created some confusion on the part of consumers. Some have questioned the safety aspect of the products.

    “Ligtas 'yung dalawang produktong ito. Nagkataon lang na nagpalabas recently ng bagong Codex na dagdagan ng konti ang fat content ng dalawang produkto," corporate affairs manager Janryll Fernandez told radio dxMM on Wednesday.

    But despite the changes, Fernandez reiterated that the 2 products have passed the stringent FDA standards, and there is no mislabeling.

    He said the new order should now answer the questions of consumers.

    Fernandez said mothers can call Mead Johnson to change the ones they bought with the new formula at 841-82222 for Metro Manila residents or at toll free number: 1800-1888-5861

    ReplyDelete
  4. 2 milk products recalled are still safe for consumption—DOH

    By Jocelyn Uy
    Philippine Daily Inquirer
    First Posted 17:09:00 09/22/2010

    Filed Under: Food and Diet and Nutrition, Health, Laws, Government
    MANILA, Philippines -- The two milk products being recalled by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are safe for consumption, according to the Department of Health.

    In a press briefing, Health Secretary Enrique Ona said no safety issues were involved in the recall order issued by the FDA.

    Earlier, the FDA ordered milk manufacturer Mead Johnson Nutrition Philippines to recall Sustagen Junior Milk Drink Powder Vanilla Flavor and Alactagrow Bibo Trio Milk Supplement as they failed to comply with the standard fat level content per 100 calories set by the agency.

    "The milk products are still fit for consumption... the order of withdrawal was made in connection with the lack of fat content in the two milk products," said Ona

    ReplyDelete
  5. actually they already released the reformulated alactagrow

    ReplyDelete
  6. it's amazing how a big company like mead johnson can make big mistakes like these on two of their most important brand names.

    ReplyDelete

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