The Cassandra Complex

How many of you remember the infuriatingly catchy jingle from Cottees Cordial that used to, um, jingle at us when we were kids?

"My dad picks the fruit that goes to Cottees to make the cordial that I like best!"

I remember we used to sing an alternate version in primary school - dad picked his nose to send it to Snotties instead...

I hadn't given this ad any thought in years - not until I saw the new and improved version of the ad. Turns out they've changed the jingle, and I found the change very telling:

"My mum adds the fun and the flavour that make the cordial that I like best!"

I figured that maybe someone had sued Cottees - some poor fruit grower out there who resented the implication that good fruit had gone into Cottees' sugar drinks. So I did a google search, and it turns out I was half right:

Trade Practices - misleading and deceptive conduct - labelling and packaging requirements

Cadbury Schweppes was found to have breached section 52 of the Trade Practices Act (TPA) by inadequately conveying that two Cottees cordial products did not contain the extracts of real fruit depicted pictorially on the packaging.

It was held that the pictured fruit and 'go bananas' logo on the 'banana mango' product was misleading, as it was likely to convey to some consumers that the cordial contained extracts of the fruit. The use of the phrase 'flavoured cordial' in smaller type than 'banana mango', either alone or in conjunction with the artificial appearance of the product, was not sufficient to dispel the impression of real fruit, as the technical meaning of that term was not likely to be understood by members of the public generally. The pictured kiwi fruits were also held to have been capable of conveying to a significant body of reasonable consumers a representation that the product concerned contained extracts of the real fruit depicted. It was held that Cadbury Schweppes had not taken sufficient steps in its labelling to overcome the effect of the pictures of fruit.

Hehe!

I also love this line from the judgement: "It must be said that the mangoes depicted are not readily recognisable as such, because substantial parts of their skins are shown as an orange colour, with which I am unfamiliar as a colour associated with mangoes."

Who said that judges don't have a sense of humour? :P