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(Test) How Media Helped Build the Case for Front-of-Package Warning Labels in Brazil
A guide to introducing effective front-of-package nutrient labels.
Focus Area
Food policyCategory
Media Campaign
Newspaper and out-of-home advertising components of the campaign.
The rapid transition from traditional diets to diets high in ultra-processed foods and beverages has been responsible for a massive increase in obesity rates in Brazil.
Based on a common saying in Brazil, “open your mouth and close your eyes,” this concept revised the phrase into a warning: “When you open your mouth, don’t close your eyes.”
Based on a common saying in Brazil, “open your mouth and close your eyes,” this concept revised the phrase into a warning: “When you open your mouth, don’t close your eyes.”
Newspaper and out-of-home advertising components of the campaign.
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Since 2014, when the working group first met, the country’s public health officials and civil society partners agreed upon the need for a system that informs the public and warns them about the health risks of processed foods high in salt, fat, and sugar. Yet how to fulfill that need was far less clear. Vital Strategies, as part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Food Policy Program, was called in to support Brazilian Institute of Consumer Rights (IDEC) to develop these successful communication campaigns that were a critical component of the policy advocacy effort. IDEC, in collaboration with partners from the Brazilian Alliance for Healthy and Adequate Food, a coalition of civil society groups, led a series of communication campaigns to promote effective front-of-package labels and maintain the momentum for ANVISA’s [an autonomous regulatory branch of Brazil’s health ministry] initiative.
“One of every five Brazilian adults is obese and new legislation mandating front-of-package nutrition labels is set to counter the trend. “
André Corrêa
Former Idec Communication Manager
A Strategic Media Campaign to Promote the Public Consultation
The communication campaign started in 2014 and the partners’ communication efforts finally paid off in October 2020, when ANVISA finally approved a model for front-of-package labels featuring a magnifying glass with text to warn consumers about products high in sugar, saturated fat or sodium.
By the Numbers
153
News stories that were generated about the campaign, equivalent to approximately R$2.2 million in earned media (around US$ 550,000 at that period’s currency exchange rate).
741.4 M
Campaign materials were seen 741.4 million times across X number of platforms.
$5,000,000,000
News stories that were generated about the campaign, equivalent to approximately R$2.2 million in earned media (around US$ 550,000 at that period’s currency exchange rate).
Video Mapping along a main street in São Paulo. Source: Idec
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