Heinz cleared over TV soup advert

The Heinz 'Farmers' Market' soup ad featured The Archers theme tune

Food giant Heinz has been cleared by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) of misleading the public over its Farmers' Market soup range.

The watchdog rejected 25 complaints that the advert implied the soup was made from ingredients sourced at a farmers' market.

The ad invited viewers to "taste the countryside" and featured the theme tune to The Archers radio drama.

The ASA said Heinz had clearly stated how it sourced the ingredients.

Complaints were brought by members of the public and several farming organisations, including Hampshire Farmers' Markets Limited and The Real Jam and Chutney Company.

But Heinz, based in Middlesex, told viewers that the soups' contents were from the UK and abroad, said the ASA.

The ASA concluded: "We considered that most viewers would understand that it was unlikely that a canned product, distributed on a national scale by Heinz, would be made from ingredients sourced locally from farmers' markets."