Transcript Reaching out to Mothers Public Health and Child Welfare

“The more things change,
the more they stay the
same”: A study of nutrition
supplementation advertising
in the 20th century
Rima D. Apple, Ph.D.
University of WisconsinMadison
Growth in Vitamin Supplement Sales
–United States
1931 - $12-million
 Today – more than $17.7
billion

Opposition to Vitamin
Supplementation
Opponents of vitamin advertising
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
U.S. Federal Trade Commission
American Medical Association
Opposition to Vitamin
Supplementation
Claims against vitamin advertising
False Hopes
Waste of Money
Dangerous
Over-arching Themes of Vitamin
Advertisements
BEAUTY
INSURANCE
Early Beauty Advertising
Through pharmacists
Through print media
Vita-Ray
Advertisement –
Good Housekeeping,
1931
Supporters of Vitamin-D Products
Manufacturers
Good Housekeeping Bureau
Denouncers of Vitamin-D Products
U.S. Federal Trade Commission
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
American Medical Association
Vitamin-D Controversy in the Popular
Media
“Beauty for the Asking”
1939-RKO film
Starring Lucille Ball
Vitamins Plus Advertisement- 1938
“Wake up and enjoy life.”
Avoid Avitaminosis
Early Insurance Claims
Problem of maintaining a wellbalanced diet
Problem of foods deficient in
vitamins
Miles One-A-Day Vitamins
Dispute with Food and Drug
Administration
Proposed
“You will not get the greatest benefits from
‘ONE-A-DAY’ tablets unless you take them
regularly.”
Miles One-A-Day- Vitamins
Dispute with the Food and Drug
Administration
Resolution
“Why not place the bottle on the
breakfast table as a pleasant reminder
to make taking a tablet every day a part
of your daily routine?”

Miles One-A-Day
Advertisement, 1941
Recent Claims

“At some point, while researchers work
on figuring out where the truth lies, it
just makes sense to say that potential
benefit [of vitamin supplementation]
outweighs the cost.” (Time, 31 Dec. 2001/7 Jan.
2002, 158 (28): 150.)
Recent Claims

“The choice to use a dietary supplement
can be a wise decision that provides
health benefits.” (FDA Consumer, March-April 2002,
36 (2): 17-21.