Consumer confidence crushed – deserting Ribena

Whoever’s giving GlaxoSmithKline PR/media advice needs firing! GSK is guilty of more than misleading the public over its advertising claims. It’s guilty of making unbelievably bad judgement calls around its subsequent PR!

The weekend Herald reported:

“a spokeswoman … in London told the Daily Telegraph that the problem arose when Ribena in Australia and New Zealand was left on shop shelves for too long, causing the vitamin C to degrade.”

Hang on a second – she’s implying the lack of vitamin C in their product is due to their faulty packaging? Right! So it’s still your problem GSK! How big a hole do they want to dig? Why isn’t their PR team giving them sound advice about accepting defeat graciously rather than trying to shift the blame to another part of their process / business? Unbelievable!

No doubt some of the ‘creatives’ at the advertising and PR agencies handling the accounts might already be looking for ways to disassociate themselves from Ribena. And not without good reason. Job-seekers in Oldham, England, might want to give this sits vac ad a wide berth too. Could be an uphill struggle over the coming months methinks!

GSK could have retained some credibility by ‘fessing up, paying their fines and taking it on the chin. Trying to shift the blame won’t stop the exodus of consumers from Ribena to other juice products. If anything, it’s more likely to encourage consumers to seek other alternatives. After all, who wants to risk buying a product that’s so far past its ‘sell-by’ date any vitamin C it may have had (which as we know is none) has deteriorated to zilch. Er … why would I buy this product?

For GSK in Australia, do yourselves a favour and before doing anything, get some advice from PR supremo Penny Mulvey at Positive Media who’s an expert in the media and corporate reputation. Accept responsibility, act with integrity and move on, with at least some of your reputation intact.