QORVIS SAYS SPLENDA IS NOT SO SWEET

Jan. 17, 2005

Qorvis Communications, on behalf of the sugar industry, has launched a "public education campaign" to inform consumers that McNeil Nutritionals' Splenda sweetener is a highly processed compound, rather than a natural product, according to Rich Masters, who heads the account.

He believes MN is misleading consumers by marketing Splenda as sugar without the calories. "We want to tell consumers that sugar cane grows in Louisiana, and sugar beets grow in North Dakota, while Splenda is manufactured in a plant in Alabama," said Masters.

The Washington, D.C.-based PA firm is repping truthaboutsplenda.com, which is backed by the Sugar Assn. trade group. Masters says he has many contacts in the sugar industry that he earned while serving as an aide to Sen. Mary Landreau (D-La.).

Splenda is in 4,000+ products

Splenda was launched five years ago, and is an ingredient in more than 4,000 products, including Kool-Aid Jammers, Log Cabin Sugar Free Low Calorie Syrup, Diet Rite Cola and Lucky Leaf Lite pie fillings.

Masters emphasized that Qorvis is not saying consumers face any health problems from Splenda. "There have been no studies to gauge the potential health effects of Splenda--one way or the other," he said.

The McNeil website says Splenda is "made from sugar through a patented, multi-step process that selectively replaces three hydrogen-oxygen groups on the sugar molecule with three chlorine atoms."

Splenda is not "sugar lite," said Masters. "It's up to parents to decide whether their children should drink chlorine compounds, " he added.

Johnson & Johnson owns MN. RFBinder Partners, which is part of Ruder Finn Group, picked up the Spenda account in January `03.