Consumer watchdog Choice awarded Samsung, Camel Milk Victoria, Green and Clean and six other companies lemon trophies at the eleventh annual awards today.
“The Shonkys are the awards that we’d prefer not to give out, but yet again we’ve caught out some of the world’s biggest brands with misleading advertising, dangerous products and sneaky tricks to rip off customers,” chief executive Alan Kirkland said.
Samsung won back-to-back Shonkys after the company recalled its potentially dangerous Galaxy Note 7 smartphone this year and a top loader washing machine in 2015.
Choice’s head of media Tom Godfrey said if it wasn’t so serious it would be a joke.
“No company should be releasing a product which bursts into flames and poses a major safety risk to consumers,” he said.
“Given their win last year, you would have to say Samsung is the least improved company over the past year.”
Nestle also made the worst-of-the-worst list after it sugar-coated the health star rating on its famous malt chocolate drink Milo.
Choice found Nestle’s four-and-a-half health star rating is misleading because it’s based on mixing three teaspoons of Milo with skim milk when only 13 per cent of people drink it that way.
“Nestle is attempting to divert attention away from the poor nutrition value of its malt chocolate dirt that is 46 per cent sugar by basing the health star rating on an ‘as-prepared’ basis,” Mr Godfrey said.
Kellogg’s Pringles chips took out an award for chipping away at customers’ wallets after it reduced the size of their cardboard tube pack and increased the saturated fat content by 60 per cent.
As if it wasn’t hard enough to fit your hand in a tube of Pringles — it dropped in size by around nine per cent — the chips themselves got smaller and lighter.
Choice recruited a live camel for the event as a nod to Camel Milk Victoria, which was called out for milking health benefits by claiming it can “help improve the immune system by fighting off bacteria and infections and aid those who have autism, diabetes, tuberculosis, cancer, stomach ulcers and more.”
Another notable mention was Green and Clean’s cans of clean Australian air targeted at tourists. A dozen cans will set you back $246.26 for “255 breaths” of fresh air.
2016 SHONKY AWARD WINNERS
* Samsung for putting potentially dangerous Galaxy Note 7 smartphone on the market
* Reckitt Benckiser’s Vanish carpet cleaner for failing to outperform water
* Amex for spruiking a surcharge-free campaign but having one of the highest cost cards in the market
* Nestle for claiming Milo has a four-and-a-half health star rating instead of one-and-a-half
* Cash Converters for promoting pay day loans via its cost-cutting tips website
* Medical Weightloss Institute for offering expensive diet drugs
* Green and Clean for literally selling thin air
* Kellogg’s for offering fewer chips but with more fat in its smaller Pringles packs
* Camel Milk Victoria for claiming its alternative dairy product has extraordinary health benefits.
Source: TheAustralian
Link: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/choice-magazine-hands-out-shonky-awards/news-story/19edfbefa10cba3f7937b0994899cb07?utm_content=SocialFlow&utm_campaign=EditorialSF&utm_source=TheAustralian&utm_medium=Twitter