BPKN-KPAI Condemns Misleading Marketing Practices for Bottled Water Products

JAKARTA - The National Consumer Protection Agency (BPKN) and the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) have condemned the marketing practice of packaged drinking water (AMDK) products, which feature photos of children under five years old (toddlers), because it is considered to violate the rules for monitoring food advertising and ignoring the principle of child protection for profit.

The Chairman of the BPKN Mufti Mubarok said that the use of images of toddlers on common food products is expressly prohibited in BPOM Regulation Number 6 of 2021 Article 14 letter bb.

"This rule prohibits processed food advertisements featuring children under five years of age, unless the product is specifically for toddlers. AMDK is a general food, not a baby-specific product," he said in a statement in Jakarta, quoted by Antara, Saturday, April 18.

The use of baby images, according to him, has the potential to mislead consumers by creating a false perception that the water is specifically formulated for babies, even though there is no scientific basis.

"If it gives the impression that it is intended for babies without special permission, it is against the provisions of labeling and violates the Consumer Protection Law," he said.

Regarding this, the Mufti stated that BPKN was ready to follow up on public reports and recommended sanctions to the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM).

In line with this, Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) Jasra Putra reminded that children's involvement in advertisements should not be exploitative.

"The best interests of the child must be the primary consideration, not used to disproportionately influence purchasing decisions," he said.

Meanwhile, communication expert Burhanuddin Abe assessed the AMDK company's strategy as a form of symbolic exploitation, the image of the baby was deliberately chosen because of its strong emotional appeal.

"Consumers can catch the implicit message that this product has special advantages for children. This is emotional manipulation," he said.

The step of the drinking water producer, he continued, can be assessed as a tactic to legitimize all means to boost sales.

The company seems to be aware of taking advantage of the emotional gap of Indonesian people who are very concerned about baby health, in order to build a positive perception without scientific basis.

"This manipulative practice seems to repeat the sweetened condensed milk (SKM) product which used to use the image of a healthy child until it was finally banned by BPOM because of its high sugar content and now, a similar pattern is happening in the AMDK industry," he continued.