Horlicks may make Indian kids 'taller, stronger, sharper', but not in the UK

24 October 2008

The UK advertising watchdog, Advertising Standards Authority, raps GlaxoSmithKline fot its Horlicks ad that claims children become ''taller, stronger, sharper" if they consume the drink. Dhruv Tanwar reports

Mumbai: An error on the part of broadcaster Nepali TV has lead to GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare's (GSK) largest brand in India, Horlicks, landing in a soup on account of unsubstantiated claims.

Horlicks, a big brand,  has revenues exceeding Rs1,000 crore, but that did not cut much ice with the UK's advertising watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

The ad, created in India by advertising agency JWT, claims that by consuming Horlicks, children become ''taller, stronger, sharper'' than other kids who do not consume the product.

The ASA rubbished the claims made by the company in the ad, saying they were ''unsubstantiated''.

The Ad's Storyboard:
The ad, broadcast in Bengali, was broadcast on Nepali TV in the UK.

The ad featured children during school assembly. Three men with backpacks get out of a car and the voice-over says, ''The Horlicks challenge starts at a famous boarding school''.