28 March 2007: School Test Case

One of the world’s largest companies has been fined after its product-claims were found to be false – by two school students.

GlaxoSmithKline, makers of Ribena, claimed in its advertising that "the blackcurrants in Ribena have four times the vitamin C of oranges". This was proven to be false by the girls, whose tests showed that the drink contained almost no trace of vitamin C, whereas one commercial orange juice brand contained almost four times more.

GSK pleaded guilty in court, admitting its ads may have left consumers with a wrong impression of the health benefits of Ribena. The company was fined just over 80,000 pounds for misleading advertising.

However, SaintFM notes that GSK had net income of £7.8 billion in 2006* so the fine is more of an embarrassment than a financial penalty.

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GlaxoSmithKline