In a case of David versus Goliath .. a small soft drinks company has won a battle over retail giant Woolworths.
The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that Woolworths had breached a clause of the advertising code by imitating the strapline of a small Kwazulu Natal soft drinks company on its own in-house brand.
Frankies Olde Soft Drinks Company welcomed the ruling by the ASA, but found and CEO, Mike Schmidt says they may have won the battle, but not the war.
In the ruling released today, 01 February 2012, it was found that Woolworths' use of the phrase 'Good Old Fashioned' was in fact an imitation of the Frankies strap line 'Good Old Fashioned Soft Drinks'.
"More importantly, the ruling states that Woolworths must permanently withdraw all of the packaging in its current format with immediate effect," says Schmidt.
In December Frankies lodged a complaint with the ASA after Woolworths introduced their 'new' cold drink range to stores around the country which were packaged in similarly shaped bottles, using candy-striped labels with the phrase 'Good Old Fashioned' and even offering identical flavours to Frankies - namely Fiery Ginger Beer and Cinnamon Cola.
"We have scheduled a meeting with Woolworths CEO, Ian Moir, on 16 February to discuss the many other issues which we hope to resolve," confirms Schmidt.
Frankies, established in 2006, is a small family-run business that operates on a farm in the midlands of KwaZulu-Natal. "Although this is undoubtedly a major victory for Frankies, it is also a victory for the small businesses who are scared to challenge the major retailers," says Schmidt.
He continues, "We knew that the distinctiveness of our brand was at stake and had to do whatever we could to protect it. We are extremely happy that the ASA ruling will ensure that Frankies' image will remain unique".
