24 Jul 2014 Pyramid tea bags better than round, UK advertising watchdog rules

Unilever got itself into hot water with its recent television ad for PG Tips in which a monkey puppet brews up two cups of tea for comedian Johnny Vegas, one using a generic round teabag and one a using the brand’s pyramid bag.

Tetley owner, Tata, had claimed and complained to the ASA that the ad “denigrated” its round teabags and that it was “misleading and exaggerated the capability and performance of the advertised product” and portrayed its brand, which accounts for half of all the round teabags sold in the UK, in a “negative light”.

Tata also questioned whether the ad’s claim that the pyramid bag meant “the tea has more room to move, freeing the great fresh taste” could be substantiated.

But the ASA has dismissed the complaints, ruling that there are several brands of round teabags on the market and that the pyramid bag did allow the tea to move more freely and release more taste.

It said Unilever had provided evidence to demonstrate that the bag had “greater brewing efficiency”. The tests showed that the infusion of tea, at 40 seconds and two minutes into the brewing process, was greater when using a pyramid teabag than when using a round teabag.

Clearcast, the body which checks adverts against the UK advertising code, also supported the points made by Unilever. It said that taste was subjective but that the company had provided evidence to show the tea moved more freely.

Source: The Guardian, The Telegraph