17 December 2009
Media release
Banana industry thanks Wrigley’s for TV ad decision
Australia’s banana industry has welcomed the Wrigley Company’s decision to remove the
banana character from future chewing gum campaigns and thanks the company for
acknowledging the concerns of the industry.
Australian Bananas Marketing Manager, David Chenu says, “We wish to thank Wrigley’s for
acknowledging our legitimate concerns over what their television commercials could do to our
banana health and nutrition education and we are grateful that further action planned can now
be withdrawn or cancelled.
“Bananas are the No1 fruit in Australia for a number of reasons, one key factor being their health
and nutrition attributes.
“Growers in Queensland, News South Wales and Western Australia are thrilled with the
outcome because they were deeply concerned about the impact of the television campaign over
time.
“While the television commercial characters may have seemed cute at the time, the message
certainly was not from the banana industry’s perspective.
“Because the banana-growing industry supports some 800 families and indirectly many more, it
was critical for us to protect years of investment in educating Australians about the health
benefits of eating bananas.
“The industry has taken on a number of challenges from Cyclone Larry to the threat of imports
from the Philippines, and this latest matter is further testament to how steadfast Australian
banana growers are in protecting their interests.
“Now that this issue has been resolved favourably, we can look forward to continuing our
banana health education. Shortly we will be able to release brand new data analysing banana
which we are confident will present some positive surprises once completed,” Chenu says.
Enquiries
David Chenu
Horticulture Australia Limited
Tel (02) 8295-2381
Mobile 0419 318 013
NEWS 
