The World Wants You to Be Stupid: Nutella

Note: This is part of a regular series dedicated to pointing out instances where the world is relying on you being stupid – don’t fall for it!

In this edition of TWWYTBS, we look at another ad for an unhealthy product passing itself off as some kind of health food. Yes, I realize that the last TWWYTBS about Taco Bell’s Drive Thru Diet had a similar theme, but I just saw this and had to share.

There is an ad on TV for Nutella, a delicious chocolate hazelnut spread. It is quite good, but it is basically chocolate. Evidently, the folks at Nutella think this qualifies it as health food, and they want mom’s to include Nutella as part of their kids’ health plan.

You can see the ad I first saw on TV at Nutella’s US website.

Here’s a version I found on YouTube that is very similar:

So Nutella is positioning itself as a health food now…?

What.

The.

Heck?!

Don’t get me wrong, I have recently fallen in love with Nutella. It is, after all, delicious. If I need a snack, half of a a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich (with or without sliced bananas) hits the spot. But I am under no illusions that the Nutella itself is healthy.

The ad, however, would have you believe otherwise. Let’s take a look at some of the brilliant text:

“I feel good starting my kids day with Nutella, as part of a nutritious breakfast.”

The words, “as part of a healthy breakfast” should be permanently banned from all advertising. I watched a lot of Saturday morning cartoons growing up, so I saw a lot of cereal commercials. They could advertise the most sugar laden cereal in the world, then say, “as part of a nutritious (or healthy, or balanced) breakfast,” then show a picture of the bowl of cereal with a glass of OJ, some toast, and fruit. Well sure, if the rest of the breakfast is healthy you can tack on whatever else you want. This line could read, “I feel good starting my kids day off with a shot of Tequila, as part of a nutritious breakfast,” and it would be just as valid.

“It’s good food to keep them going.”

Translation: I like to hop my kids up on sugar before sending them out into the world.

“Every jar is made of wholesome all natural ingredients. 106 hazelnuts, a whole cup of skim milk, and a hint of delicious cocoa.”

Riiiiiight. Hazelnuts (exactly 106, for some reason), skim milk, and a hint of cocoa. Hmmm, do you really believe that’s all that’s in Nutella? If so, try this: grab 106 hazelnuts, one cup of skim milk, and a dash of cocoa, throw them in a blender, liquify, and drink. When you are done gagging on that, come on back here…

Do you have a jar of Nutella in your house? If so, go read the ingredients. I’ll wait.

Don’t have one? Ok, Let me list the ingredients for you – remember, ingredients are listed from most to least used in the food:

• Sugar
• Modified Palm Oil
• Hazelnuts
• Cocoa
• Skim Milk
• Reduced Minerals Whey
• Soy Lecithin: An Emulsifier
• Vanillin: An Artificial Flavor

That’s right, the number on ingredient is sugar! Number 2 is oil.

Interestingly, the ad stresses that there is a cup of whole milk and a “hint” of cocoa, but according to the ingredients there is more cocoa than milk.

If you want to feed your kids (or yourself) high sugar stuff, I have no problem with that. Just make it a conscious choice, and not as a result of some ploy by a company to pass off their sugar laden food as “healthy.”

“Nutella has no preservatives or artificial colors and is a source of vitamin E.”

I thought this was the one good thing Nutella had going for it. Then I realized that one of the ingredients is “Vanillin: An Artificial Flavor.” So Nutella has no artificial colors or preservatives, but it does have artificial flavor? Tricky tricky…

“I make sure Nutella’s always part of their breakfast.”

Always? Always?? Of course, because nothing says “I love you” like childhood obesity…Ok, that may sound harsh, but if you saw an ad for Cap ‘N Crunch cereal where a woman tried to pass it off as healthy and said she made sure to always include it with her breakfast, you would sprain your wrist dialing child services.

I’ll admit it, I’m not a parent, but I have seen my friends try to get their kids to eat, and I know it can be a chore. And I am not some kind of health food extremist who thinks kids should be deprived of all sorts of tasty junk food (hell, I grew up on it!).

My issue here, as with the Taco Bell diet, is not that Nutella is not healthy, but rather that the company is trying to trick you into thinking it is. The ads want you to not think. The ads want you to blindly follow what they say.

In a nutshell, the ads want you to be stupid.

Don’t fall for it. Take some responsibility. Do some research. Read the nutrition info. And apply some common sense: if something tastes like a melted down Hershey bar with hazelnuts, chances are it’s not healthy!

Well, now that I’ve got that off my chest, I feel like making myself a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich. Hey, I said it was unhealthy – I never said it wasn’t delicious!