Here’s an update on the story of the cereal maker we blogged about the other day. You’ll recall that this particular company, now identified as Kellogg’s and its Cocoa Krispies cereal, was being questioned for a marketing claim it used in big letters across the front of its box saying the cereal “Now helps support your child’s IMMUNITY.”

According to media reports the company has decided to remove the marketing claim from its boxes of Cocoa Krispies. A Kellogg’s spokesperson said its decision didn’t have anything to do with complaints from customers, but rather it made its decision based on growing media and blog reports about the situation.

As a small business owner it’s important to learn from this lesson. As we stated in our initial blog post on the subject, if you’re going to make a marketing claim (we’re the best, we offer the lowest, you won’t find this anywhere else…) you better be able to back it up. But it goes much farther than that.

The problem Kellogg’s faced in this situation wasn’t so much what it was claiming, but more so a problem of timing. That the cereal contains added vitamins means they can technically justify making the claim. However, with H1N1 (swine flu) so much in the news, and with America on a heightened state of alarm regarding the flu, the marketing claim was perceived to be a tad bit opportunistic. According to these media reports, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) monitors claims that pertain to ingredients, especially as they relate to one’s health.

Basically, it’s important to back up your marketing claims. But you also don’t want to be perceived to be taking advantage of a situation. Many companies in South Florida face similar problems when they aggressively market to people immediately following devastating hurricanes (generators on the side of the road at high prices, anyone?). And remember you may not be thinking of a few cereal boxes here. Companies today put their marketing claims on Web sites, blogs, direct mailings, emails, landing pages, etc.

It’s just in bad taste. And you never want your marketing to be in bad taste - especially if you’re a cereal maker.

What do you think? Was this case overblown, or do marketers have a responsibility to do a better job when making claims?