Ban on Lucozade advert for claim to ‘fuel you better than water’

The television advertisement and a poster drew 63 complaints, including one from the National Hydration Council, challenging whether the claim by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) broke advertising rules.

The TV ad showed two groups of men, one drinking water and the other Lucozade Sport, running on treadmills while being monitored by technicians before a voiceover said: “At the limits of your ability, you need to replace the electrolytes you lose in sweat, keep your body hydrated, give your body fuel.”

It continued: “Lucozade Sport gives you the electrolytes and carbohydrates you need, hydrating you, fuelling you better than water.” The poster featured an image of a professional rugby player and stated: “Hydrates and fuels you better than water.”

GSK said Lucozade Sport was a carbohydrate-electrolyte solution, and that two health claims for such solutions had been authorised by the European Union under Regulation 432/2012, after a scientific assessment undertaken by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

The company said the claim that Lucozade Sport “hydrates you better than water” was fully consistent with the authorised claim “carbohydrate-electrolyte solutions enhance the absorption of water during physical exercise”.

Regarding the “fuels you better than water” element of the claim, GSK said it “strongly believed” that consumers would recognise that Lucozade Sport provided calorific energy, derived predominantly from carbohydrate, whereas water was calorie-free and could not therefore be said to provide “fuel” at all.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) noted that the claim “hydrates and fuels you better than water” did not appear on the list of authorised health claims in respect of carbohydrate-electrolyte drinks, but understood that the regulations allowed for a “degree of flexibility” to aid consumer understanding. But it ruled that GSK did not accurately reflect the authorised claim in its rewording of it for the campaign, specifically by failing to make it clear that the benefits of the drink would only be achieved during prolonged endurance exercise.