Tik Tok is leaving MN as a result of the Milupa advertisement on the home page.

[moondog]

Please good MN people,see sense!
Whodo we really need more,Tik Tok or bloody Aptamil????

This board will lose so much if she goes......

C'mone ladies,add your voice!

The 'but we aren't allowed to give mothers any information about our products' line is one that is currently being used by formula manufacturers to influence government into lifting the ban.

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This thread has inspired me to pay subs. To tell you the truth, I don't know how to and I've never been asked. Until reading this thread, I didn't know it was possible to pay subs.
Perhaps I'm naive.
Perhaps Mumsnet needs to be more pro-active getting us to pay up as I'd far rather pay subs than allow mutlinationals to compromise the credibility of my favourite site.

i would just like to mention that i do pay my subs.
im very sad that someone who has obvioiusly been invaluble has chosen to leave.
however, is it fair to hold a website to ransome over it?
ive looked at aptamils site and dont like it.
i breastfed my children, but formula milk does exist, and some mums cant breastfeed.

why shouldn't formula milks be promoted, i think those who are going to BF don't show an interest in formula any way and some of us NEED to formula as the choice is taken away from us so i think those mothers in that situation need all the advice they can get. surely they have as much right to feeding info as BFeeding mothers do about the benefits of their milk.

I may be missing the point but isn't the problem that advertising formula can stop people Bfeeding??

It is rammed into you at the hospital and every where you go that BF is best and the adverts aren't saying any different.

Do any of the formula companies actually say that their product is better than breast milk?

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They aren't currently allowed to advertise and they are arguing, to government, that that means they are unable to give women information about their products, and therefore that the ban should be lifted.

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Just wondering why you weren't allowed to b/feed at all cd? I would welcome factual information on formula.It would interest me in the same way that many things do!
I like giraffeski's comment
'claiming to offer advice to a vulnerable group of women.
Spot on.

The whole point of subs being optiobnal though is so that everyone can contribute. In my current finacial situation there's no way I could afford to use MN, which, for me would be a terrible loss (my house would be tidier though)

I agree that the Aptimil ad is snaeky and underhand, but maybe we are making matters worse by clicking on it (I know I did out of nosiness) as there will be a way for their marketing dept to check traffic from MN, if there is none, it won't be worth their while paying for another one.

Then again, I am probably talking out of my arse.

Sorry, I did mean the follow on milk.

I do think however that the ban should be lifted as long as there as guidelines in place as with the advertisment of most products.

MMH, I agree that formula milk manufacturers should be allowed to give info, but only within certain guidelines.

I definitely think there is a place for an independent comparison of formula milks, so people can make an informed choice. Looking at the Aptamil site, the only thing I've gathered is that they are 'leading the way in infant nutrition by adding prebiotics to the milk'. Sounds good, haven't a clue what it means. I'm sure advertising won't give you the info you need, just have some flashy sounding meaningless statements.

I do think the ad looks a bit like MN are endorsing Aptamil as a product, because of where it's put on the home page - looks like a 'joint project' rather than the other banner style ads.

I (very sadly)accept that ads are a fact of life. I mean,Jeez,you even get on a plane nowadays and those silly little screens come down and bombard you with useless information.

I understand that ads pay for MN and can't get riled by any of them apart from ones for formula (because that's what they are.)
There has to ba an exception for this.The fact that it is (ostensibly) illegal to do so means that even the authorities acknowledge this,despite shamefully underfunding b/feeding support and advice.

The drop off rate for breastfeeders in UK is significant in the early weeks (Mears I'm sure would have stats) but many who do persevere, with the help of the likes of Tiktok, do so long term.

Milupa are deliberately targetting those who may have problems and are perhaps most vulnerable to influence with their "helpline". It isn't really about those who have already made the decision to bottle feed from the off or, for whatever reason, don't have a choice but to bottlefeed.

tortoiseshell,yes,it does look like a joint project,whereas the other advertised stuff just seems to be incidental. Allthis shit about a 'community' makes me want to puke! All these companies who peddle useless paraphernalia for babies do this-Tesco 'club', Huggies 'club' and so on. Grrrrrr!

I don't think that formula manufacturers should be allowed to have breastfeeding "helplines." However, I'd like to think that your average mner would think twice before getting advice from one of these lines, but I still think they should be banned altogether.

I'm not keen on the comparison 'like a tobacco company offering advice on how to give up fags!'

I bf'd briefly but could not continue and used Aptamil successfully and was glad of it. Their advertising may be unpalatable to some on here, but Milupa are not comparable to a tobacco company.

isn't Tiktok leaving kind of the wrong way to make a protest? surely the thing to do is stay and keep spreading the word?

tortoiseshell makes a good point it looks more "editorial" than just another ad or link. Wonder if they pay per "click" like some MN supporters or for the ad as a whole ? If the traffic isn't that great anyway perhaps they won't consider it value for money .