• Ad Age, Monday, December 21, 2009 10:51 AM

Marketers have been getting "real" in earnest in recent years but now it may be the government's turn, Emily Bryson York reports. "Real people drink Caribou, real dogs eat Alpo, real sandwiches have Hellmann's and Canada Dry ginger ale is made with real ginger." And then there's Wendy's "you know when it's real."

The word conveys the sense that the product is wholesome or natural without having to hassle with the nettlesome certification process that goes along with using terms like "organic."

Supermarket "guru" Phil Lempert is among those who think that the situation is inviting the feds to step in and regulate. "Do I think ['real' is] powerful? Yes," he says. "Do I think that the next phase is the government will actually take a look and try to clarify what should be real and what shouldn't be real? Yes."

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