Mondelez Provides Article About Competitor Nestle’s Involvement In Slave, Child Labor

The British newspaper Guardian recently published an article describing how Nestlé is contesting a child labor lawsuit in the Ivory Coast after admitting to use of slave labor in Thailand. Beneath the headline was a disclaimer noting that the article was “Supported by Mondelez International,” a major competitor of Nestlé. But Mondelez denies that it participated in the story, claiming a strict separation between its marketing and editorial content. The material was prepared by the editorial staff for the Guardian‘s independent “Sustainable Business Supply Chain” section, which Mondelez partially subsidizes. Guardian policy is that articles produced with funding from outside parties – so-called "supported by" stories – are "editorially independent content." Nevertheless, notes Advertising Age, “The matter underscores how sponsored content programs can put marketers in uncomfortable situations.”