The Whole Truth mocks kids’ food giants to push cleaner advertising

If you grew up hearing your TV scream "taller, stronger and sharper," chose a chocolate spread infused with hazelnut to convince yourself it was the healthier alternative, or indulged your kindred spirit with occasional treats from the confectionery store, then The Whole Truth's new ad is directed at you.

The Whole Truth is a clean-label food brand centred around radical transparency. Its offerings include muesli, cereals, nut butters, protein bars and powders.

Launched on February 19, TWT’s new ad titled The Whole Truth for The Next Gen, starring its founder Shashank Mehta, targets not only an audience but also brands in a display of satirical callbacks. 

Claiming that "kids' marketing is screwed", the ad is divided into three parts; the first product alluded to in the ad is a milk powder that claimed to make kids "taller, stronger and", as implied, sharper. Only for a kid to reveal that it contained "50% refined sugar” instead of all the goodness promised. 

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The second product is a "yummy, chocolatey, hazelnut spread” that is revealed to contain only 7% hazelnut along with “70% sugar and palm oil".

Another toy “wrapped in joy" is targeted next because it allegedly contains "12 unpronounceable ingredients". 

The ad then goes on to pitch a "food drink” by The Whole Truth as a healthier alternative containing only seven ingredients that promise to fulfill “28%" of a child's protein requirement with no refined sugar.

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The ad also pitches a four-ingredient snack bar and a protein bar dubbed as “game-time protein" for kids. “That's our ad and the whole truth,” says the founder as he concludes the ad.

The ad may seem quirky to some, but it's just another Tuesday at The Whole Truth head office.

Five months ago, the brand took another creative dig at popular protein powder brands using an edited version of the iconic song Choli ke peeche kya hai, turning it into ‘Protein ke peeche kya hai’ instead.

Muscular men that looked ready for a bodybuilding championship danced comically to the edited song, highlighting the hidden added flavours, thickeners, sweeteners, amino-spiking agents, heavy metals, and chemicals in "Black Box" whey protein powders.

The older ad also ended with founder Mehta claiming to offer the audience "only the whole truth".

With consumers becoming increasingly mindful of the ingredients they consume in their everyday foods, The Whole Truth positions itself not only as a healthier alternative to popular brands, but it also aims satire at them for better recall value.