"You can spend hours .." With these words the song begins that supports the commercial for the Old Amsterdam cheese brand. A beautiful song about the city that - combined with the black and white images - evokes a true nostalgic feeling. The commercial gives the impression that Old Amsterdam completely fits the image of every day life in Amsterdam in the twenties of last century. But not everything is what it seems to be! Old Amsterdam is a youngster.. The brand is only on the market since 1985 and the company behind the cheese has existed only since 1936. Yet, because of the commercial it seems that the cheese brand is a "heritage brand" that can draw on a long tradition of craftsmanship passed from generation to generation. Is the commercial therefore contrary to the truth and misleading about the advertiser? And does the product actually contain the qualities that the commercial seems to claim? These questions were submitted to the Dutch Advertising Code Committee (RCC). Old Amsterdam stated that the name refers to the product: old cheese. And 'Amsterdam' is simply the place where the father of one of the founders sold his first cheese. That is one of the reasons that the images of the ad generate an atmosphere of Amsterdam in the years '20-'30.
The RCC follows the cheese producers. It is not misleading to insert the name Old Amsterdam in historical images. The consumer will not get the impression that the cheese existed in this period. Consumers will perceive it as a commercial, romantic drawing. It is a description of the name, flavor and character of the Old Amsterdam cheese. The advertisement does not leave the impression that the quality of Old Amsterdam is good because of its long existence. And what about the fact that the cheese is not even made in Amsterdam? No big deal, according to the RCC, for it is only a reference to the name. To measure whether the consumer has been mislead by a commercial, it has to be determined whether the consumer decided differently about the purchasement of a product. In other words, did he or she buy something that he or she would not have bought otherwise. This was not the case here. However, be warned: a long, day dreaming walk along the canals of (Old) Amsterdam will not lead you to a nostalgic Old Amsterdam cheese cheese factory..
Daan van Eek, advertising law attorney
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"You can spend hours .." With these words the song begins that supports the commercial for the Old Amsterdam cheese brand. A beautiful song about the city that - combined with the black and white images - evokes a true nostalgic feeling. The commercial gives the impression that Old Amsterdam completely fits the image of every day life in Amsterdam in the twenties of last century. But not everything is what it seems to be! Old Amsterdam is a youngster.. The brand is only on the market since 1985 and the company behind the cheese has existed only since 1936. Yet, because of the commercial it seems that the cheese brand is a "heritage brand" that can draw on a long tradition of craftsmanship passed from generation to generation. Is the commercial therefore contrary to the truth and misleading about the advertiser? And does the product actually contain the qualities that the commercial seems to claim? These questions were submitted to the Dutch Advertising Code Committee (RCC). Old Amsterdam stated that the name refers to the product: old cheese. And 'Amsterdam' is simply the place where the father of one of the founders sold his first cheese. That is one of the reasons that the images of the ad generate an atmosphere of Amsterdam in the years '20-'30.
The RCC follows the cheese producers. It is not misleading to insert the name Old Amsterdam in historical images. The consumer will not get the impression that the cheese existed in this period. Consumers will perceive it as a commercial, romantic drawing. It is a description of the name, flavor and character of the Old Amsterdam cheese. The advertisement does not leave the impression that the quality of Old Amsterdam is good because of its long existence. And what about the fact that the cheese is not even made in Amsterdam? No big deal, according to the RCC, for it is only a reference to the name. To measure whether the consumer has been mislead by a commercial, it has to be determined whether the consumer decided differently about the purchasement of a product. In other words, did he or she buy something that he or she would not have bought otherwise. This was not the case here. However, be warned: a long, day dreaming walk along the canals of (Old) Amsterdam will not lead you to a nostalgic Old Amsterdam cheese cheese factory..
Daan van Eek, advertising law attorney