CAP finds plenty of slimming ads break the Code
09 December 2005
Leafing through your local paper, your eye is caught by an ad for a new wonder pill. It claims to remove fat by speeding up the metabolism and flushing out toxins. It sounds wonderful but, three weeks later, and after parting with your hard-earned cash, the pill has had no effect whatsoever.
That was typical of ads the Compliance team surveyed in January this year. The team picked out any ad for products that claimed to aid weight loss.
Products we looked at
- Pills
- Weight-loss programmes
- Hypnotherapy
- Injections or surgical procedures
- Applications (i.e. cream or body wrap)
- Exercise machines
- Gyms
- Own-brand low-fat foods
- Beauty salons
Identifying the new year as the time the media would be most likely to publish slimming ads, the team looked at 55 ads in 52 regional papers and 30 women’s magazines. Worryingly, the team found that half of all ads for slimming products broke the Code.
The CAP Code has specific rules for advertisements for weight control. For example, advertisers must back up their claims with rigorous trials, they should not claim that people can lose weight from specific parts of the body and, as advised by the Department of Health, they should not claim people can lose more than 2lbs a week on a diet plan.
The team found that most ads were for weight-loss programmes. Although those ads contained several breaches, most breaches were found in ads for slimming pills and appetite suppressants. Many slimming pills have no effect on weight loss; those that do are likely to be regarded as medicinal and, therefore, should not be advertised to the public.
The team also found that most advertisements that breached the Code appeared in the regional press (88% of breaches). Of the regional press ads, 21 of 36 breached the Code, a breach rate of 58%. Of those ads that appeared in magazines, 3 of 12 breached the Code, a breach rate of 25%.
Where it found a breach, the team wrote to both the advertiser and the publisher bringing the breach to their attention. The team asked the advertiser for a written assurance that the ad would be amended before being placed again.
The team has continued to monitor the slimming sector and will act if it finds the advertiser has not corrected the problem.
Download a PDF document of the Compliance team report.
Code clauses relevant to the survey can be found at the foot of this article.
Click here for the AdviceOnline database, a searchable database of guidance for advertisers in non-broadcast media; it contains lots of advice on ads for slimming products and many other products, too.
These are the words to watch out for:
Boost
Collagen
Cholesterol
CLA
Detox
Dissolve
Eliminating
Fat-burning
Fat-busting
Green tea
Hormone
Immune
Lean
L-Carnitine
Lipostabil
Lose inches
Melting
Metabolism
Sculpt
Speed
Stop cravings
Stop fat being absorbed
Suppress appetite
Thermogenic
Thermoslimmer
Related Codes:
- 3.1
Before distributing or submitting a marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove all claims, whether direct or implied, that are capable of objective substantiation.
Relevant evidence should be sent without delay if requested by the ASA or CAP. The adequacy of evidence will be judged on whether it supports both the detailed claims and the overall impression created by the marketing communication. The full name and geographical business address of marketers should be provided without delay if requested by the ASA or CAP.
- 6.1 Marketers should not exploit the credulity, lack of knowledge or inexperience of consumers.
- 7.1 No marketing communication should mislead, or be likely to mislead, by inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration, omission or otherwise.
- 51.1 A weight reduction regime in which the intake of energy is lower than its output is the most common self-treatment for achieving weight reduction. Any claims made for the effectiveness or action of a weight reduction method or product should be backed if appropriate by rigorous trials on people; testimonials that are not supported by trials do not constitute substantiation.
- 51.2 Obesity in adults is defined by a Body Mass Index (BMI) of more than 30 kg/m2. Obesity is frequently associated with medical conditions and treatments for it should not be advertised to the public unless they are to be used under suitably qualified supervision.
- 51.3 Marketing communications for any weight reduction regime or establishment should neither be directed at, nor contain anything that will appeal particularly to, people who are under 18 or those in whom weight reduction would produce a potentially harmful body weight (BMI of less than 18.5 kg/m2). Marketing communications should not suggest that it is desirable to be underweight.
- 51.4 Marketers must show that weight reduction is achieved by loss of body fat before claims are made for a weight reduction aid or regimen. Combining a diet with an unproven weight reduction method does not justify making weight reduction claims for that method.
- 51.5 Marketers should be able to show that their diet plans are nutritionally well-balanced (except for producing a deficit of energy) and this should be assessed in relation to the kind of person who would be using them.
- 51.6 Vitamins and minerals do not contribute to weight reduction but may be offered to slimmers as a safeguard against any shortfall when dieting.
- 51.7 Marketers promoting Very Low Calorie Diets and other diets that fall below 800 calories a day should do so only for short term use and should encourage users to take medical advice before embarking on them. Marketers should also have regard to the voluntary code of practice in the COMA report "The Use of Very Low Energy Diets" (1987).
- 51.8 Marketing communications for diet aids should make clear how they work. Prominence must be given to the role of the diet and marketing communications should not give the impression that dieters cannot fail or can eat as much as they like and still lose weight.
- 51.9 Marketing communications should not contain claims that people can lose precise amounts of weight within a stated period or that weight or fat can be lost from specific parts of the body.
- 51.10 Claims that individuals have lost exact amounts of weight should be compatible with good medical and nutritional practice, should state the period involved and should not be based on unrepresentative experiences. For those who are normally overweight, a rate of weight loss greater than 2 lbs (just under 1 kg) per week is unlikely to be compatible with good medical and nutritional practice. For those who are obese, a rate of weight loss greater than 2 lbs per week in the early stages of dieting may be compatible with good medical and nutritional practice.
- 51.11 Resistance and aerobic exercise can improve muscular condition and tone; this can improve body shape and posture. Marketers should be able to substantiate any claims that such methods used alone or in conjunction with a diet plan can lead to weight or inch reduction. Marketing communications for intensive exercise programmes should encourage users to check with a doctor before starting.
- 51.12 Short-term loss of girth may be achieved by wearing a tight-fitting garment. This should not be portrayed as permanent, nor should it be confused with weight or fat reduction.