The item was shown on Channel 4's flagship afternoon show on
19th July. It featured various energy drinks, but gave such
prominence to Red Bull that it “gave the distinct impression that
the programme had come under external commercial influence,”
according to Ofcom.
It was presented by co-host Richard Madeley as an apology for
inaccurate comments made in a previous episode about the dangers of
caffeine and energy drinks. "We unintentionally misled you," he
said in his apology, before introducing a video clip that showed
"how people use caffeine in today's world."
Four viewers complained that the clip that followed “seemed like
an advertisement for Red Bull with celebrity endorsements.”
In it, Red Bull was recommended four times. Loughborough
University's Dr Louise Reyner told viewers that "an energy drink
such as Red Bull is particularly good because it's always got 80mg
of caffeine and we're recommending that people take about 160mg of
caffeine … So that equates to two cans…" Ofcom noted that she
neglected to mention that she received a research grant of almost
£53,000 from Red Bull in 2002. The clip also showed racing driver
Johnny Herbert, a member of Red Bull-sponsored F1 teams in the
1990s. And golfer Paul Casey told viewers how Red Bull helps him
stay "sharp and alert".
Coffee was disparaged in the clip: "you can't tell … how much
caffeine is in it" and "the instant stuff from the machine … is
horrible."
Ofcom concluded: “Channel 4 Television had demonstrated
uncharacteristically poor judgement resulting in what appeared to
be, at the very least, a loss of editorial control.”
Channel 4 accepted that it had breached Ofcom’s Programme Code
by giving undue prominence to the product.
