This Campaign from Nestlé Is a New One to Me

Public Forum
1

As you know, I’m always on the lookout for marketing campaigns that manipulate us into believing a certain narrative, while their real purpose is to sell a product and drive up corporate profits.

This week, I’m introducing Nestlé’s “get women back to work” campaign.

Sit down and take a deep breath…

Nestlé’s campaign to get women back to work is a clear example of how corporate interests shaped infant feeding—and women’s labor, in the 20th century.

***In Summary ***

As more women entered the workforce in the mid-1900s, Nestlé aggressively marketed infant formula as a modern, liberating alternative to breastfeeding, framing it as the solution that allowed women to return to work while still being “good mothers.”

How the campaign worked to manipulate women

Breastfeeding was portrayed as outdated

Nestlé ads suggested formula was scientific, modern, and superior—aligning it with progress, medicine, and women’s independence.

Doctors and hospitals were key targets

The company provided free formula samples in maternity wards and promoted formula through medical professionals, giving it an aura of medical endorsement.

Marketing directly to women

Ads emphasized convenience and freedom: formula feeding meant women could work, socialize, and live “modern” lives without being tied to their babies.

Expansion into the Global South

In many countries, Nestlé used sales representatives dressed as nurses to promote formula, often in places without clean water—leading to serious health consequences. I have even read that they began by offering free formula, just enough to sustain women until their breast milk dried up.

Why it became a scandal

Critics argued that Nestlé’s tactics:

Undermined breastfeeding

Exploited women’s economic pressures

Contributed to infant malnutrition and mortality in low-income regions

This backlash led to the WHO International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (1981)—a direct response to Nestlé’s practices.

The bigger takeaway

Nestlé didn’t just sell formula; it sold a story—that women’s participation in the workforce required replacing traditional caregiving with corporate products.

The reason I research and share these campaigns is that they help us recognize how corporations design narratives to manipulate behavior, and how those changes ultimately drive profit.

Did you know about this campaign? And what are your thoughts?

2

Das läuft doch jetzt genau so mit Nahrungsergänzungsmitteln. Sie können ihren ungesunden Lebenstil beibehalten, wenn Sie unsere Produkte, die z.B. “alle fehlenden Vitamine und Mineralien enthalten”, nehmen. Sie brauchen auf nichts verzichten - Ozempic hilft das Gewicht zu reduzieren - es gäbe noch mehr Beispiele.

Helen adding an AI translation for non German speakers: “This is happening exactly the same way now with dietary supplements. You can continue your unhealthy lifestyle if you take our products, which, for example, ‘contain all the missing vitamins and minerals.’ You don’t have to give anything up — Ozempic helps reduce weight — and there are even more examples.”

3

„Ja, ich stimme zu. Es ist interessant, das zu beobachten, und wieder wird es wahrscheinlich Jahre dauern, bis es gestoppt wird.“

“Yes, I agree. It’s fascinating to watch this unfold, and once again, it will probably take years before it’s stopped.”

4

In 1981, I worked on an MA in a small village in the most remote village in Kenya. There were 3 booths - one owned by Nestle advising the village women to be “modern” and use infant formula. The village had unsafe water and used a nearby stream for drinking. At the movies in Nairobi, we had to stand for the Nestle commercial. The villege, Kitalie, was also the dumping ground for birthcontrol devices I’d never seen. We disassembled the hospital’s women’s health cubicle and gave the devices to the village women’s sewing group to decorate toys for their children. The only win-win I witnessed.

5

This is just another attempt to break up the family unit and make a ton of money in the process. I think it is important to have a mother/child relationship that goes beyond childhood. If possible, aside and medical complications, breast feeding is an important emotional bond with the child. I don’t know if stay at home moms are a good or bad thing, but if you have kids then you should raise them and not a child care stranger. Your family heritage and values maybe a good thing to pass on.

6

@blcwrites Standing for the Nestle ad…OMG

7

It certainly feels this way. And now that we have economic systems that rely on both parents working, it’s a difficult cycle to disrupt.

8

:100::+1:

9

Breast Milk vs. Formula: How Do They Compare? | Medela

What’s in breast milk?

From colostrum that coats and seals your newborn’s stomach lining, to mature milk that helps your baby grow strong, each drop of your breast milk contains thousands of beneficial components, including:

* antibodies to protect against illnesses [2](https://www.medela.com/en/breastfeeding-pumping/articles/power-of-breast-milk/breast-milk-vs-formula-how-similar-are-they#references-hyperlink-698bdf59af27b)

* hormones that promote bonding and regulate appetite [3](https://www.medela.com/en/breastfeeding-pumping/articles/power-of-breast-milk/breast-milk-vs-formula-how-similar-are-they#references-hyperlink-698bdf59af27b)

* stem cells that may support organ development and repair [4](https://www.medela.com/en/breastfeeding-pumping/articles/power-of-breast-milk/breast-milk-vs-formula-how-similar-are-they#references-hyperlink-698bdf59af27b)

* white blood cells that fight infection [5](https://www.medela.com/en/breastfeeding-pumping/articles/power-of-breast-milk/breast-milk-vs-formula-how-similar-are-they#references-hyperlink-698bdf59af27b)

* beneficial bacteria that protect your baby’s digestive system [6](https://www.medela.com/en/breastfeeding-pumping/articles/power-of-breast-milk/breast-milk-vs-formula-how-similar-are-they#references-hyperlink-698bdf59af27b)

* prebiotics called oligosaccharides that support a healthy gut [7](https://www.medela.com/en/breastfeeding-pumping/articles/power-of-breast-milk/breast-milk-vs-formula-how-similar-are-they#references-hyperlink-698bdf59af27b)

* long-chain fatty acids to help develop your baby’s brain, nervous system and eyes 8,9

* enzymes to support his digestive and immune systems [2](https://www.medela.com/en/breastfeeding-pumping/articles/power-of-breast-milk/breast-milk-vs-formula-how-similar-are-they#references-hyperlink-698bdf59af27b)

* nucleotides and hormones that help develop healthy sleep-wake patterns [10](https://www.medela.com/en/breastfeeding-pumping/articles/power-of-breast-milk/breast-milk-vs-formula-how-similar-are-they#references-hyperlink-698bdf59af27b)

One of the benefits of breast milk over formula is that it’s a living fluid. It adapts to your baby’s changing circumstances. So if your baby becomes ill, your body makes extra white blood cells and antibodies that travel into your milk and help fight infection. 5

“The protective properties of mother’s milk are fundamental and unique to the evolution of lactation,”explains Professor Hartmann. “But we don’t yet have the data to understand the full extent of all the protective elements and what they do, as breast milk is so complex.

“Take oligosaccharides – there are more than 200 of them. 11 They’re the third most abundant component of breast milk – yet we have little idea about what they do! They possibly have very complex structures because it gives them affinity for particular proteins, and when the oligosaccharide and the protein come together they have biological effects.

“Really, if you don’t know about it you shouldn’t muck around with it! Breast milk’s the normal thing.”