What role should advertising and marketing communications play in explaining the health benefits of basic products such as yogurt?

You don’t have to look far to discover that many health professionals believe in the health benefits of yogurt. Elaine Magee, writing for WebMD, notes that “our body needs to have a healthy amount of ‘good’ bacteria in the digestive tract, and many yogurts are made using active, good bacteria.” Yogurt contains probiotics, or the good bacteria that promote healthy digestion. Yogurt also contains protein, which helps prevent osteoporosis, and vitamin D, which provides additional skeletal benefits.26 So how does a company get in trouble promoting the health benefits of yogurt? By overstating its advantages over the competition. Dannon, which produces Activia and DanActive, recently paid $45 million in a class action lawsuit to settle complaints regarding its advertising. The company’s commercials suggested that the products were “clinically” and “scientifically” proven to regulate digestion and boost immune systems in campaigns featuring actress Jamie Lee Curtis, who called the yogurt “tasty.”