Aptamil advert...

[nattiecake]

"IF you chose to move on from breastfeeding...!"

IF???

Eh?

What would you rather they said than "if you decide to move on from breastfeeding"??

Some of us do move on from breastfeeding, I chose to stop at 6 months with DD1 and will with DD2 if we make it that far.

They are companies, and companies advertise their product. It's that simple. They have to tread on eggshells because there is so much they are not allowed to say. They are not allowed to advertise formula that is suitable for newborns at all. So what should they say? Bearing in mind they are advertising a product that is suitable from six months, when you could still be bf, or you could have already done a fab job bf, but want to substitue or stop?

I agree it is such nonsense. However, I find it more patronising that 'first' formulas (ie breastmilk alternatives) can't even be advertised!!!

Let women make up their own minds. My son was formula fed exclusively from about day 10 (reasons are frankly none of your business) and he is just thriving. Aren't we lucky we have nutritious alternatives to breast milk in this day and age.

Advert doesn't bother me. It doesn't show a newborn or allude to newborns in any way, they acknowledge bf as being best and the child shown is clearly older so I can't see a problem with it.

Apart from it makes me cry because DD had Aptamil and I can't even look at formula in the baby aisle without blubbing!

I'm shocked and saddened.

You'll be telling me that meerkats don't really talk in a minute...

It does annoy me a tiny bit, but on grounds of pedantry rather than lactivism. I have yet to meet a mother who plans to breastfeed her baby into old age, so presumably there is no "if" about it - every mother will move on from breastfeeding at some point. "If you choose to stop breastfeeding before your baby is 12 months old and able to digest cow's milk effectively" isn't going to boost their sales.

I pray that when my LO arrives I will continue to not give a flying fig what sentence structure formula companies use in their adverts.

Ludicrous pedantry and obsessiveness imo.

Clothilde & MorrisZapp, there's no accident in the wording used - it smacks of an advertising re-write by Cow & Gate in-house legal counsel. No doubt there were numerous conference calls, power point presentations & heated discussions with management over the necessity for the word 'if' rather than 'when', given the strict rules re formula advertising. You'd think we were talking about marketing cigarettes to babies.

What, you mean they make adverts for formula using paid professionals, brainstorms, meetings, legal consultants etc?

Isn't that how all adverts are made?

There are as many people here saying it would be worse if they used the word 'when' so from that I dare say that no matter how these companies advertise their product, there will be enraged posters on MN.

what a fuss about nowt.

Sorry for not coming back, forgot I'd started this!

Just to clarify, it was me being pedantic about the wording rather than the fact that people FF. I know its only an advert, but the way it is worded implys to me that weaning your child onto FOOD is an optional decision

Lol it was firmly tongue in cheek, Vallhalla got it, but then everyone else read what they thought was there, with both BF and FF-ers having a go!!

Oh dear...