It's the end of the Perriers, and nobody's laughing

Why did Perrier abandon a prestigious 25-year sponsorship deal at the biggest comedy festival in the world? Keiron Nicholson asks what an Edinburgh comedy award has to do with the lives of some of the poorest people in Africa.

Perriers: ''past nominees including such comedy immortals as Eddie Izzard, Steve Coogan and the Mighty Boosh: they are, quite simply, iconic.'' ''Many children would die, and Nestlé would make a huge profit: truly, a formula for success.'' ''Comedian and political activist Mark Thomas, Perrier-nominated in 1992, is amongst the cynics.'' ''Maverick comic Stewart Lee told audiences 'every time you laugh, a baby dies'.''

The Edinburgh Festival is the largest arts festival in the world, and the Perrier Comedy awards are the ultimate accolade any stand-up comic could hope for. For 25 years, the Perriers and the festival have been inextricably linked, with past nominees including such comedy immortals as Eddie Izzard, Steve Coogan and the Mighty Boosh: they are, quite simply, iconic.

So why, this year, did Perrier pull out of the sponsorship of the award it created? Perrier say, ‘to explore new opportunities for the brand’. Cynics say, ‘Nestlé’. Swiss giants Nestlé took over Perrier in 1992 and since then the Perriers have been under an increasing barrage of criticism from the very artists they're supposed to be promoting.

The reaction is understandable. Nestlé, it's fair to say, doesn’t have the greatest track record in corporate responsibility. In fact, it has a habit of blundering from one ethical disaster to the next, as seen in 2002 when it demanded millions of dollars in compensation from the Ethiopian government during an extreme drought that had left 11 million people starving. The claim dated back to the 1970s and was equivalent in value to one hour's profit for the company - it insisted, wonderfully, that it was ‘a matter of principle’.

In particular, it was Nestlé’s aggressive marketing of breast milk substitutes in the developing world that comedians didn't want to be associated with - a controversy that dates back decades. UNICEF has stated that ‘marketing practices that undermine breastfeeding are potentially hazardous wherever they are pursued; in the developing world, WHO estimates that some 1.5 million children die each year because they are not adequately breastfed. These facts are not in dispute’.

Astonishingly, Nestlé would dress untrained women as nurses, and have them give out free samples of breast milk substitute. The samples would last until the mother's milk dried up, when they would be forced to buy more and, being poor, they'd often have to dilute it with diseased water. Many children would die, and Nestlé would make a huge profit: truly, a formula for success.

Unappreciative of Nestlé's entrepreneurial spirit, Fringe comedians turned their caustic gaze onto the hand that feeds. Previous winners such as Emma Thompson and Steve Coogan led calls to boycott the company. Maverick comic Stewart Lee told audiences ‘every time you laugh, a baby dies’.

Now, when they should be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the awards, Nestlé has finally bottled out - but it says it has nothing to do with the protests. Comedian and political activist Mark Thomas, Perrier-nominated in 1992, is amongst the cynics.

"It makes little logical sense for a successful sponsorship deal to terminate if it is, well, successful, and attracts the right sort of publicity", says Thomas. "Over the past few years the protest against Nestlé was drawing consistent criticism and attention in the press. Each award ceremony was becoming more and more security conscious for fear of protestors getting in. Every year the debate reopened as to the suitability of Nestlé as a sponsor. If the relationship between the comedy awards in Edinburgh and Nestlé was working fine, why walk out on it?" Call me a cynic, but I think most people would agree with him.

Last year The Guardian reported that Nestlé had been voted ‘the world's least responsible company’. It's still the most boycotted company in Britain, and there's little indication that this will change anytime soon. You almost have to admire its sheer single-minded determination. What other company would abandon its own legendary comedy award, rather than simply reconsider the staggering callousness of its own actions?