LisaKremer_FinalResearchPaperPDF

Lisa Kremer 1
IS 393 – 001 Final Research Paper Total Page Number: 10.5
Total Word Count: 3719
Research Topic: The Response of the International Community to the Unethical Marketing Efforts
Applied by Nestlé to Promote Nestlé Infant Formula in Developing Nations, the Role of Soft Power and
the Possible Consequences of Restrictions on Marketing
Introduction
Advertisements are well known for being some of the most persuasive means of
communication. Advertisements link a product to people’s inner desires by playing on people’s fears and
insecurities. This is achieved by altering the consumer’s perception of an advertised product by appealing
to factors other than the product’s physical attributes or associating a product with a non-market good,
such as contentment, health, and status, among others. In fact, most types of marketing now contain little
information about the product being advertised – which raises the question of whether it should be
controlled or regulated. The leading economist Friedrich August von Hayek argued that controlled
marketing efforts mean a restriction on freedom, and that advertising and marketing are ethical in every
way as the consumer is a rational human being and can therefore make a conscious and educated choice
about product offers (Ciulla, 2007, p.334-336). However, I want to argue that there is a detrimental
difference in employing questionable marketing efforts in the Western world versus applying similar
methods in developing nations. Although marketing may in some cases act in the country’s interest, I
believe the right to advertise does not include a right to defraud, or moral license to lead people into
buying harmful products – an issue that the international community needs to address. After all, we in the
international community have a duty to protect citizens whose governments are unable or unwilling to
protect them (Wheeler, 2005).
Nestlé, the world’s leading nutrition, health and wellness company, began marketing infant
formula in developing countries in the 1950s. The company’s deceptive marketing campaign, which I will
examine in detail later, portrayed infant formula as an adequate substitute for breastmilk, which resulted

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in the deaths of millions of infants (Finkle, 1994). Even today, Nestlé continues to be accused of harming
entire nations, not only infants. What started as a baby milk scandal has grown into a worldwide debate
about the food industry’s responsibility towards rising obesity, heart disease and diabetes rates in
developing nations – places that often times don’t have the resources or systems to battle these
consequences. Considering that Nestlé is just one case out of many that illustrate the harmful effects of
marketing practices on developing countries, I would like to raise the question if and how the Nestlé case
has caused the international community to respond to such unethical practices. I will also examine what
role soft power has in the issue and further assess whether a restriction on marketing campaigns in
developing nations would not only “protect” vulnerable parties of the effects of false and deceptive
advertising but also potentially limit people’s opportunities to access the world market and improve their
situation. Just because “action is requested, does not mean it is achieved” (Slaughter, 2003, p. 83-90);
trans-governmental regulations therefore need to coordinate issues without practicing coercive power
over populations that could then undermine new possibilities. Implementing strict regulations on
commercial advertising could not only keep populations from the potential manipulation of market giants,
but at the same time deprive the country of its chance to actively participate in the global market, thereby
raising its standard of living. The “protection” of a culture should not entail the rejection of improvement
in developing countries.
Body Section I: The Response of the International Community
Advertising is a relatively straightforward and definite way for Western countries to practice
soft power over developing nations. According to Joseph Nye, soft power is the ability to shape the
preferences of others through appeal and attraction; it influences the behavior of others to get desired
outcomes (Nye Jr., 2013). In the marketing industry, soft power has now become a means of generating a
foreign public opinion in line with the same outcome one desires through understanding and fine tuning
messages based on how the audience hears the message and interprets it (Joseph, 2010). Nestlé was and is

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aware of the power of persuasiveness and the cultural appeal of its products on developing nations, many
of which battle high rates of infant mortality due to diarrhea. Nestlé began an intensive marketing
campaign portraying their formula as the “new ‘Gold Standard’ in infant nutrition” and a breastmilk
substitute that protects babies and prevents diarrhea and other common infant diseases (Lule, 2012, p. 85-
119). The corporation’s marketing campaign included deceptive advertisements on billboards, free infant
formula samples to new and often self-doubting mothers as well as female Nestlé employees who dressed
up as nurses and promoted the breastmilk substitute; thereby relying on manipulative soft power, false
third-party endorsement and giving the impression that the Nestlé product was recommended by the
idealized Western medical community.
According to Lule, a mother’s milk is the safest, most nutritious and cheapest way to feed an
infant (Lule, 2012). In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) states that “globally, breastfeeding has
the potential to prevent about 800,000 deaths among children under five each year if all children 0–23
months were optimally breastfed.” This means that in developing nations, 11.6% of all deaths amongst
children under the age of five could be prevented by breastfeeding (Nestlé Boycott). These numbers are
proof that marketing efforts that undermine breastfeeding are often hazardous – both to the individual and
the society. Especially in developing nations where women are the core of their communities, deceptive
marketing efforts can lead to the destabilization of the entire community by undermining and taking
advantage of women (Snyder, 2006, p. 184-195). In fact, Caryn L. Finkle states that the deceptiveness of
Nestlé’s marketing efforts, combined with the issues common in developing nations such as illiteracy,
poverty and poor sanitary conditions have resulted in the deaths of millions of infants (Finkle, 1994). In
addition, Nestlé’s promoting of formula over breastmilk suggests cultural imperialism, which refers to the
increasing diffusion, or dominance, of Western cultural values that have the potential to overshadow and
even overtake local cultures of developing nations. Nestlé undermined a natural and traditional approach
to feeding children and instead forced Western culture and practices on vulnerable populations for the
mere sake of profits (Lule, 2012, p. 155-180).

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The use and effectiveness of soft power can, however, not only be found in Nestlé’s and other
market giants’ advertising practices, but soft power also set the necessary atmosphere for change and
became a catalyst for action that led the international community to respond to these negligent practices.
Even though the connection between infant formula and infant diseases and mortality in developing
countries was brought to public attention in the early 1960s, just years after Nestlé started its deceptive
advertising campaign, “it was not until the publication of the book “The Baby Killer” that the infant
formula controversy gained prominence” (Sethi, 1994). Written by Mike Muller and War on Want (a
London-based activist group aiming to battle world hunger, poverty and other issues in the developing
world), the pamphlet made the provocative claim that babies in the Third World were dying because of
the irresponsible marketing efforts of multinational corporations that encouraged mothers to feed their
babies “western style infant formula” (Sethi, 1994). According to the book Multinational Corporations
and the Impact of Public Advocacy on Corporate Strategy, the marketing of infant formula had not been
an issue that the public paid attention to – the publication of the book, however, changed the game by
raising public awareness.
Other noteworthy initiatives include a group of 17 activists who formed the “Arbeitsgruppe
Dritte Welt” (AgDW – Third World Action Group) that brought out the article in German as Nestlé Kills
Babies, as well as Bottle Babies, a film produced in Kenya by West German filmmaker Peter Kreig,
which is commonly referred to as the “cornerstone” of the Nestlé Boycott (Fazal). Here, soft power was
illustrated by using dramatic words and creating images in book and film titles that appealed to the
public’s emotions, and by portraying an image that goes very much against Western values. It attracted
the attention of global media, “moved the issue to center stage” and set in motion a number of events that
forced the international community and policy-makers to react (Sethi, 1994). These two illustrations of
the use of soft power demonstrate that, unlike hard power that relies on coercion, threats and inducements
(Nye, 2003), soft power really is what one makes of it. While soft power always plays on people’s values,

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attractions and ideals, its persuasiveness can do great harm, but can also inspire influential authorities to
act on behalf of those who do not have a voice or the means to protect themselves.
It did not take long before the infant formula controversy spread from Europe to the United
States. While the Nestlé Infant Formula case has led to the involvement of a number of players, including
Private Voluntary Organizations (PVOs), international agencies and governments, in The Dilemma of
Third World Nutrition, author Maggie McComas states that the first major reaction within the
international community came from the United Nations Protein Calorie Advisory Group (PAG), which
criticized Nestlé for its unethical behavior and deceptive marketing malpractices in the developing world.
As a non-governmental United Nations organization, PAG was “one of the most active international
organizations dedicated to the study and improvement of worldwide nutrition” (McComas, 1983). Prior to
1977, PAG ensured coordination of nutrition research and aid programs carried out by U.N. agencies,
such as the World Health Organization and UNICEF (McComas, 1983). The United Nations Protein
Calorie Advisory Group warned that the given conditions in developing nations, such as poor sanitation
practices, polluted water, widespread illiteracy, as well as foreign language barriers among targeted
populations, could lead to misuse of infant formula. The group therefore recommended the
implementation of regulations and supervision of the advertising and marketing practices of infant
formulas. However, according to McComas, the marketing of Nestlé’s breastmilk substitute in less
economically developed countries remained unregulated.
Nonetheless, the fight was far from over for the health and nutrition company. The widespread
publicity surrounding Nestlé’s infant formula led to the establishment of the Infant Formula Action
Coalition (INFACT) in 1977, a non-profit organization headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, aiming
to protect public health, the environment and democracy from abuse by multinational corporations. In the
very same year, INFACT announced a consumer boycott of all Nestlé products in the United States to
protest the marketing of breastmilk substitutes in the developing world – which soon spread to Australia,
Europe, Canada and Great Britain, among others. According to Syed H. Akhar, a number of other

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organizations joined the global campaign and the overall cause, including the Interfaith Center of
Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) and the Sisters of Precious Blood (Akhar, 1994). The strong
involvements of Private Voluntary Organization (PVO), governments and international agencies achieved
a fine balance between “grassroots organizing, legal process and catchy communication” (Muller, 2013).
Instead of focusing on scientific facts about the situation by addressing the issue if infant formula really is
an adequate substitute for breastmilk, Sethi states that INFACT “changed the issue into a moral one, one
involving victims and culprits” (Sethi, 1994). These organizations relied on soft power in order to
mobilize public support. Portraying little, helpless babies as the victims of Nestlé’s marketing efforts
strongly appealed to the emotions of the public and put the corporate giant on the hot seat.
In addition, the campaign attracted support from medical professionals, health authorities, civil
society in developing nations as well as church and consumer groups, all of which became an integral part
of a new sociopolitical environment, influencing and influenced by business activities (Sethi, 1994). And
while the infant formula controversy meant different things to different people, this grand involvement
achieved one major strategic victory: The World Health Organization urged the United Nations to review
infant formula marketing and implement restrictions on its advertising. This led to a meeting between the
World Health Organization and the World Health Assembly in 1981 and the formulation of the
International Code of Marketing of Infant Formula (ICMBS), which was approved the very same year.
According to Syed H. Akhtar, after ten years of negotiations between the different groups, which Nestlé
preferred to call “discussions,” the boycott ended (Akhter, 1994). The bottom line is, however, that the
Nestlé boycott had a major impact on the interpretation of corporate responsibility and the reconciliation
of human rights and commercial interests (Post, 1985). Regulations and limitations on consumer
industries remain a threat to market giants. However, the Nestlé debacle illustrates that, while resolutions
implied by members of the international community are soft power and might have little direct or
immediate impact, they commonly do lead to firm international enforcement.

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The ICMBS states that “breastfeeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the
healthy growth and development of infants.” It does, however, recognize that breastmilk substitutes are a
suitable option and should be made available to mothers that are unable to feed their children otherwise,
in which case “all these products should accordingly be made accessible to those who need them through
commercial or non-commercial distribution systems The W.H.O. recognizes” (Guy, 1981). According to
the Journal of Public Health Nutrition, the goal of the International Code of Marketing of Infant Formula
is to limit the promotion of products and practices that may be harmful to a country’s society and public
health, and to provide strict guidelines and regulations to the marketing and advertising of breastmilk
substitutes, bottles and other equipment (Lutter, 2013). Furthermore, the World Health Organization
states that it has subsequently passed a number of resolutions, including as recently as 2010, aimed at
closing loopholes and strengthening the guidelines (World Health Organization, 2010). The adoption of
the code encouraged a number of key changes in the marketing behavior of the infant formula industry.
For example, Nestle stopped supplying medical institutions with free samples of their formula, changed
product labels and eliminated pictures that might idealize the use of infant formula (Fox, 1983). In his
article Assessing the Nestlé Boycott: Corporate Accountability and Human Rights, author James E. Post
states that milk nurses, mass media advertising, and misrepresentation of the benefits of baby formula
became much rarer by 1981. The World Health Organization stressed the importance of breastmilk as a
response to safety hazards and acknowledged the risks of mismanagement of the infant formula that could
make the promoted breastmilk substitute dangerous to use.
Body Section II: May the “Protection” of a Culture Entail the Rejection of Improvement?
The organization also feared that the introduction of western products would disrupt the cultural
and political character of the country and further lead to a “westernized view of life” (Baer, 1980) – or
cultural convergence. In his book Globalization and Media, Jack Lule points out that cultural
convergence occurs when a globally dominant culture, such as the United States, overtakes a local

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culture, which will then lose its distinctive characteristics (Lule, 2012). The author further states that this
celebration of American products and practices commonly leads to “cultural imperialism,” in which the
cultures of industrialized countries “invade” and take over the cultures of less developed nations,
potentially leading to a “worldwide, homogenized, Westernized culture” (Lule, 2012). All of the points
raised by the World Health Organizations as well as academics around the world are valid. Protecting a
developing country’s autonomy, customs and traditions is without a doubt crucial. However, the code also
raises the question of whether “protecting a developing nation” by implanting limitations and regulations
might in fact be harmful to the country’s development and violate fundamental human rights. According
to Finkle, the international community wants to protect less developed countries “by keeping them where
they are – less developed.” By implementing strict regulations and limitations on marketing efforts
instead of addressing the avoidance of product misuse, the ban on marketing efforts chooses ignorance
over information (Finkle, 1994).
The ban on advertising also demonstrates the paternalistic position of the international
community in developing countries. This global governance, along with its institutions, regulations and
codes, is the foundation for progress, reform and justice, and has the capacity to identify and solve
problems on a global scale. However, Anne Marie Slaughter recognizes that this capacity needs to be
developed without “risking what Emmanuel Kant called the ‘soulless despotism’ of world government” –
the exercise of absolute power, commonly in an oppressive way (Slaughter, 2003). Although the
problems that occur when a foreign product is introduced in a society cannot and should not be ignored,
restrictive rules implemented by transnational organizations take away a country’s voice in what they
want or need – thereby depriving a developing country’s unique opportunity to take part in the world
market and improve its standard of living. According to Slaughter, there is a need within the international
community to “cooperate, coordinate, and regulate” but it is crucial that this is done without the use of
coercive power –to avoid both the discouragement of a country’s advancements as well as the
convergence and homogenizing of national cultures and institutions.

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In addition, I argue that implementing a ban on advertising and marketing has the potential to
eliminate the positive effects that these efforts could have on a developing nation, and further interfere
with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The code’s restriction of advertising in developing
nations might in fact miss or ignore the greater problem. The reason that Nestlé’s breastmilk substitute
was harmful and ended fatal for many children is not because infant formula is a bad product in itself,
rather, it is the framework of socioeconomic and political constraints of a developing country, along with
an environment of poverty, illiteracy, unsanitary conditions and limited health services, that created
dangerous conditions for the use of infant formula (Post, 1985). While the applied marketing practices did
without a doubt exacerbate the situation, neither the marketing itself nor the actual formula created these
conditions. In fact, in most countries the introduction of infant formula has enabled nursing mothers to
pursue employment outside the home by easing the dependency of the child’s nutrition on the mother - an
ability that is essential in battling poverty in developing nations. While the concept of the working mother
is accepted – and even encouraged- in most industrialized countries, in this specific case the paternalistic
approach of the international community seems to not grant that opportunity to women in developing
countries. It thereby ignores the desires of many developing countries for societal advancements and a
more modernized way of life.
Furthermore, “protecting” developing nations by simply denying them information keeps those
countries from participating in the world market and keeps them in a state of economic dependence. This
goes against the very fundamental rights of every human being. The Universal Declaration of Human
Rights clearly states that “everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes
freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas
through any media and regardless of frontiers” (The United Nations, 1948). It goes beyond the mere right
of freedom of expression, but also highlights people’s right to receive raw, real information. According to
Jonathan Graubart, developing countries tend to not ask for the regulation and limitation of advertising.
The most effective way, it seems, of dealing with issues like the Nestlé case is thereby to allow

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communities to have a voice in what they want and need. Here, another controversy becomes apparent
(Graubart, 1989). On one hand, the international community assumes that limiting a country’s flow of
information - especially one that portrays a western view of life - would be to a country’s advantage as it
aims to protect its cultural autonomy. On the other hand, however, the term “cultural autonomy” also
suggests that a country has the right to shape its own culture and development. It is therefore crucial for
the international community to work alongside individual nations to balance the needs of these nations
with international objectives aimed at restricting Western imperialism.
Conclusion
As shown by the Nestlé infant formula debacle, advertising and other marketing efforts can
have a destructive effect on public health and societal norms in developing nations. I believe they can,
however, also be vehicles for great change. While the Nestlé case first escalated because of product
misuse, advertisements have the benefit of high visibility. Instead of deceiving vulnerable populations to
buy into marketing scams, advertisements could be used to increase knowledge and understanding of a
product, thereby acting as a means of education and information rather than manipulation. As shown, the
product itself is rarely to blame; it is rather the overall context and environment it is being placed into. In
case of Nestlé, developing nations’ problems could have been directly addressed by simply promoting
safe use of infant formula along with the importance of hygiene and nutrition. This could have provided a
forum for consumers to seek out and ask questions about the product. If modified in a way that benefits
both producers and consumers, marketing practices have the potential to “identify and encourage positive,
helpful, healthy behavior patterns in developing countries” (Finkle, 1994).
The Nestlé Infant Formula case repeatedly illustrates the use of soft power in international
relations, both as a means to deceive populations in developing countries by appealing to the idealized
Western world, as well as to stir discussions and cause a major response from the international
community. By portraying an image of Nestlé’s practices in developing nations that goes against every

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Western value, soft power elicited a response that led to the involvement of a number of actors, the
establishment of the Infant Formula Action Coalition (INFACT), an international boycott of Nestlé
corporation and the World Health Organization’s formulation of the International Code of Marketing of
Infant Formula (ICMBS). However, all these enactments aiming to “protect” vulnerable parties by
denying them information have also shown to strip people’s opportunities to battle poverty and ignore the
fundamental human right to receive information. The practice of cultural imperialism under the guise of
“protection” of a nation’s culture and autonomy undermines a country’s opportunity to develop and take
part in the global economy. Instead, marketing efforts should act as a mutually beneficial vehicle of
knowledge and information for vulnerable populations. International actors need to realize that no
developing country will benefit from their efforts by keeping them in a consistent state of dependency.
Instead, corporate giants should use their marketing to encourage the responsible use of their products in a
way that promotes public health and economic development.

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Works Cited
Akhter, S. (1994). Multinational Corporations and the Impact of Public Advocacy on Corporate Strategy -
Review. Journal of International Business Studies.
Baer, E. (1980). The International Code of Marketing for Breastmilk Substitutes: Consensus, compromise
and conflict in the infant formula controversy. International Commission of Jurists Review, 25,
52-61.
Ciulla, J. (2007). The Non Sequitur of the "Dependence Effect" In Honest Work: A Business Ethics
Reader (3rd ed., pp. 334-336). New York, New York: Oxford University Press.
Edkins, J. (2009). How do we begin to think about the world? In Global politics: A New Introduction
(2nd ed., pp. 20-37). London: Routledge.
Fazal, A. (n.d.). The Build Up To The Nestle Boycott. In The Boycott Book (1st ed., pp. 19-22).
Finkle, C. (1994). Nestlé, Infant Formula, and Excuses: The Regulation of Commercial Advertising in
Developing Nations. Northwestern Journal of International Law and Business, 14(3), 602-619.
Fox, J. (1983). Nestle Complying with WHO Code for Infant Formulas. Science, 222, 400-400.
Graubart, J. (1989). What's News: A Progressive Framework for Evaluating the International Debate over
the News. California Law Review, 77, 629-631.
Guy, M. (1981). The Infant Formula Controversy.
Joseph, T. (2010, January 2). Soft Power Marketing. Retrieved November 15, 2015, from
https://newagemarketing.wordpress.com/2010/01/02/soft-power-marketing/
Lule, J. (2012). Media and Cultural Globalization: Cartoon Killings and Dismantled McDonald's. In
Globalization and Media: Global Village of Babel (2nd ed., pp. 155-180). Lanham, Maryland:
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Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.

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Lutter, C. K. (2013). The international code of marketing of breast-milk substitutes: Lessons learned and
implications for the regulation of marketing of foods and beverages to children. Public Health
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McComas, M., & Fookes, G. (1983). The Dilemma of Third World Nutrition: Nestlé and the Role of
Infant Formula. Nestlé.
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November 17, 2015, from http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/nestle-baby-milk-
scandal-food-industry-standards
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Post, J. (1985). Assessing the Nestlé Boycott: Corporate Accountability and Human Rights. California
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Issues in Business Ethics, 25(3), 658-660.
Slaughter, A. (2003). Everyday Global Governance. Daedalus, 132(1), 83-90.
Snyder, C. (2006). On the Battleground of Women's Bodies: Mass Rape in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Journal
of Women and Social Work, 21(2), 184-195. doi:10.1177/0886109905286017
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Wheeler, N. (2005). Strangers in Peril. The World Today, 61(8/9), 15-16.
World Health Organization (2010) WHA63.23 Infant and Young Child Nutrition. Geneva: WHO

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