ASA Adjudication on dumbbellfit.co.uk
dumbbellfit.co.uk
33/1 moo 10 suanpak 16 rd.
Talingchan Mansion
Talingchan
Bangkok 10170
Thailand
Thailand
Date:
31 October 2012
Media:
Internet (e-tailing)
Sector:
Leisure
Number of complaints:
1
Complaint Ref:
A12-203922
Background
Summary of Council decision:
Three issues were investigated, all of which were Upheld.
Ad
Claims on www.dumbellfit.co.uk, promoting the No Problem Ion Balance wristband, stated "NEGATIVE IONS - TITANIUM BRACELET ... Improved Health ... Increased Energy". Text further down the page stated "This Ion bracelet will help you maintain balance and energy throughout the day. Many athletes use this product while playing, but it is also used quite commonly by every-day people ... The closer the Negative Ion Technology is to you, the better. This technology can have a direct positive impact on your daily activities", "Specially provide to our customers as following [sic]: ... - Aged or sick persons" and "Help Utilize Oxygen - Speeds the delivery of oxygen in the bloodstream Boost Immune System - Helps to focus our bodys [sic] immune systems Oxidation of Serotonin - Speeds the process to help relieve pain and mood effects".
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the following claims were misleading and could be substantiated:
1. "The closer the Negative Ion Technology is to you, the better. This technology can have a direct positive impact on your daily activities";
2. "Specially provide to our customers as following: ... - Aged or sick persons"; and
3. "Help Utilize Oxygen - Speeds the delivery of oxygen in the bloodstream Boost Immune System - Helps to focus our bodys [sic] immune systems Oxidation of Serotonin - Speeds the process to help relieve pain and mood effects".
CAP Code (Edition 12)
Response
1., 2. & 3.
Dumbbellfit.co.uk did not respond to the ASA's enquiries.
Assessment
1., 2. & 3. Upheld
The ASA was concerned by dumbbellfit.co.uk's lack of substantive response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code clause 1.7 (Unreasonable delay). We reminded them of their responsibility to provide a substantive response to our enquiries and told them to do so in future.
We noted that dumbbellfit.co.uk had not provided evidence to support the efficacy claims in the ad. We therefore considered that the claims had not been substantiated, and concluded that the ad was misleading.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 1.7 (Unreasonable delay), 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation) and 12.1 and 12.7 (Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We referred the matter to CAP's Compliance team.
