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Mead Johnson
| Peter R Dolan CEO Bristol-Myers Squibb Company 345 Park Avenue New York, NY 10154 USA Tel: +1 212 546 4000 Fax: +1 212 546 4020 Websites: www.bms.com, www.meadjohnson.com Products
include: Follow-up
Formula |
Mead Johnson is one of the three main US infant food manufacturers. Its 1999 worldwide formula sales stood at US$ 1.2 billion. It is part of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Company that specialises in pharmaceuticals, medicines, beauty care, “nutritionals” and medical devices. Mead Johnson now has its own brand of classical music CDs entitled “Smart Symphonies” dedicated to brain development of babies. These CDs are used as gifts linking classical music to the company products Enfamil, Enfapro, Enfagrow and Enfalac, which the company claims provide nutrition that lays the foundation for brain development. A Hong Kong orchestra refused to perform for “Smart Symphonies” when it learnt about Mead Johnson’s Code violations. To reduce any advantage gained by its competitors, Mead Johnson challenged Ross Laboratories’ use of the claim “1st Choice of Doctors” on their labels for Similac. An appellate court ruled in favour of Ross Laboratories. In a 1999 ruling in Quebec, Canada, Mead Johnson lost its legal challenge of a system whereby hospitals offer turns to the three major manufacturers to provide free supplies, which the company claimed was causing it a yearly loss of CA$ 10 million. |
Company reps contact mothers directly at home, by telephone, at exhibitions and in health care facilities in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mexico.
Mothers in Canada, the USA, Taiwan, Mexico, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Canada receive free samples of Enfamil and Enfalac in health care facilities and via mail. Mexican mothers received free samples at a “Bebe y Yo” exhibition.
In Taiwan, Bolivia and Russia, company promoters stationed in shops advise mothers on infant feeding and recommend their brands.
Company reps distribute leaflets, brochures and other materials to mothers in Canada, Hong Kong, Mexico, Russia, Taiwan and the USA.
- Bottle feeding is idealised by picturing the bottle feeding mother as very happy, with bright red (culturally prosperous) clothing in a well-lit setting and the dull breastfeeding mother in a dimmer setting.
- Another Mead Johnson booklet instructs mothers planning to breastfeed to go through unnecessary procedures, such as scrubbing their nipples and breasts with soap before feeding.
- A booklet that teaches exercises for babies contains pack shots of Enfamil and Enfapro.
Mead Johnson materials for mothers in the USA idealised formula by claiming “…it is closely patterned after breast milk…” and “…with an improved fatty acid profile modelled after breast milk”.
In a maternity unit in the USA, a company rep provided a Christmas tree decorated with Mead Johnson products.
In Taiwan, Mexico, Bolivia and Canada, company reps visit shops every one to six weeks to plan promotions and provide promotional materials. They offer discounts, deliver more products, donate other products and give gifts and commissions to staff.
Mead Johnson distributes bottles, nappies, bottle bags, towels, socks and CDs to mothers in Taiwan and the USA via mail and directly to homes.
The company uses several promotional techniques discounts to customers, special displays, coupons, gifts, special sales and product line advertising for Enfalac, Enfamil, Enfapro and Prosobee in shops in Bolivia, Canada, Mexico, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Mead Johnson advertises its brands via leaflets, brochures, baby records, handbooks, newspapers, magazines, direct mailings, gift packs, baby club coupons, posters, shelf talkers and so on in Canada, Taiwan, the USA, Hong Kong, Mexico, Malaysia and Russia. Most refer to infant formulas.
Advertising in Hong Kong encourages parents to use certain products, for example Enfamil AR, for common problems like vomiting or a family history of chronic cough.
Mead Johnson advertises widely on the Internet. Its websites encourage Canadian parents to join its “Enfalac Baby Steps Program” which offer information on infant nutrition as well as the “Enfamil Family Beginnings Program” which offers discounts and free gifts.
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Promotion in health care facilities
Mead Johnson supplies samples of Enfamil, Enfalac, Enfapro, O-Lac and other brands to health care facilities in Canada, the USA, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Mexico and Uruguay. In half the cases, the formula was not requested by the health facility. Whether requested or not, companies are not allowed to give out samples or free supplies.
In Mexico, Taiwan and the USA, Mead Johnson presents gifts such as bottles, nappies, bottle bags, towels, socks and CDs to mothers in health care facilities.
In Taiwan, the USA, Russia, Mexico and Hong Kong, Mead Johnson distributes materials on infant feeding in health care facilities. Some materials are on display, others are handed out by health workers.
In Taiwan, company reps visit mothers in health care facilities and give out gifts to promote products.
In Malaysia, Taiwan, Russia and Mexico, calendars, clocks, posters and growth charts displaying the Mead Johnson logo are found in the waiting rooms and nurseries of health care facilities. Some refer to specific products such as Enfamil, Enfalac and Prosobee.
Mead Johnson also gives leaflet display shelves to health care facilities in the USA.
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Samples of Enfamil are given to health workers in the USA and Mexico. They are not meant for research as evidenced by the lack of research protocols.
Mead Johnson distributes company booklets, leaflets and advertisements to health workers in the USA, Mexico, Taiwan and Russia.
In Hong Kong, Taiwan, Canada and Mexico, Mead Johnson gives health workers gifts such as calendars, penholders, notebooks, CDs and measuring tapes, all bearing the company logo.
In Taiwan and the UAE, Mead Johnson gave cash grants for the creation of a baby room.
O-Lac is described as the solution to six “common feeding problems” according to a colourful brochure in Malaysia which is passed on to mothers.
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| Pens for doctors and nurses. |
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2400 Enfamil nipples donated to a neonatal ward in Hong Kong, February 2000. |
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Enfalac and Nutramigen labels in Canada carry a large, shiny bottle.
Peter Rabbit (Beatrix Potter’s famous character) is used as a graphic on Enfamil products. In the USA and Canada, bottle feeding is idealised with the mother rabbit bottle feeding the baby rabbit. In developing countries or countries with stricter labelling provisions, the same pictures appear without the feeding bottle.
In the book, “Nine months for Life,” distributed to doctors’ waiting rooms in Canada, five kinds of Enfalac are promoted using unsubstantiated claims and pack shots. There are no warnings, and mothers are asked to enrol in the company’s Baby Steps Program to make “informed decisions”.
In Mexico, Taiwan and the UAE, Mead Johnson gives financial support to health care facilities and health workers. It has sponsored a paediatrician’s talk in addition to a number of meetings, participation at congresses, lunches, a festival and other similar events.
In the USA, Mead Johnson implies that breastmilk is inadequate and lacks the vitamins provided in its nutritional complement for children.
Mead Johnson supported the message centre and breakfast meetings at the 2000 Annual Conference of the American Academy of Pediatrics. They also provided two $10,000 awards for research in paediatrics plus expenses to the conference.
Mead Johnson sponsors paediatric nutrition information on WebMD a large public health website. It is almost impossible to obtain paediatric nutrition information on this site without being directed to Mead Johnson’s formula pages.
In Malaysia, shelf-talkers invite mothers to join the Mead Johnson MaMa Club for Mama Sustagen and receive the company’s newsletter. Subscribers are required to submit foils from the lids of any Mead Johnson product. Mama Sustagen is promoted as a product that enables breastfeeding. Companies use such clubs to build databases on new mothers.
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 Mexican leaflet promotes anti-regurgitation formula. |
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