Nestlé marketed vigorously to convince mothers in some Third World
countries to change from breast-feeding to using the company’s baby formula product.
The campaign was very successful in persuading mothers that breast-feeding was
not as healthful for their children as the company’s formula, and it dramatically
changed their feeding practices. Unfortunately, because of poor water sanitation and
improper formula preparation, infant mortalities increased. Thus, the preference for
and practice of breast-feeding had to be reinstilled in those countries, which was
done successfully. This company changed cultural preferences and behaviors—and
then changed them back—in a relatively short time.