CAP trains publishers on rules for health and beauty ads
09 December 2005
On Tuesday 11 October, CAP opened its doors for the latest ‘Advice:am’ seminar. The session was run in conjunction with the Periodical Publishers Association (PPA) and discussed the claims made in health and beauty ads, focusing on slimming, skin care and hair (both replenishment and removal) products.
We welcomed delegates to our offices in Holborn for an early breakfast, followed by a CAP staff presentation that sought to give those present the necessary knowledge to spot potential breaches of the Code in health and beauty ads. The session was a great success and was well received by the attendees, who included Advertising Managers, Legal Advisers and Compliance Officers from major publishers.
The seminar encouraged the attendees to ask themselves “Does it seem too good to be true?” in relation to the miracle claims that are often made for products such as slimming pills and ‘anti-ageing’ skin creams and highlighted the paucity of evidence to substantiate many claims of efficacy for slimming pills and other products. The importance of substantive evidence was a central theme throughout, simply summed up by the golden rule: ”If you can’t prove it, don’t say it.” CAP’s stance on skin creams – that they can temporarily reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles – was emphasized by citing examples of ads that have gone beyond that position in the past and as a result have breached the CAP Code.
As well as the importance of truthfulness, targeting and safety were covered, especially in relation to slimming products. Key requirements of the weight control section of the CAP Code, such as ads should not target the obese or contain rates of weight loss that exceed the Department of Health’s recommended safe rate of 2lbs (just under 1kg) a week were explained with examples. The importance of those points was highlighted, because ads of that type can be potentially dangerous if they encourage people to self-diagnose medical conditions or set targets of weight loss that might harm them.
After the success of both this Advice:am session and those run previously, CAP hopes to run more events throughout 2006 and beyond to ensure that the requirements of the CAP Code are communicated effectively to the industry. As well as attending Advice:am events, CAP encourages all advertisers and publishers to make use of its free Copy Advice service. You can do that by calling us on 020 7492 2100, e-mailing enquiries to advice@cap.org.uk or accessing our AdviceOnline database on the CAP website, www.cap.org.uk.