Background
This case forms part of a wider piece of work on ads for cosmetic surgery abroad, identified for investigation following intelligence gathered by our Active Ad Monitoring system, which uses AI to proactively search for online ads that might break the rules.
In June 2023, the United Nations confirmed that, following a request from their government, that the Republic of Turkey would henceforth be identified as the Republic of Türkiye. Although the change has been implemented we have used the former here because it is currently more commonly understood by consumers and reflects the language used in the advertising content considered in this case.
Summary of Council decision:
Three issues were investigated, all of which were Upheld.
Ad description
A paid-for Facebook ad for Aestheal Clinic, promoting cosmetic surgery in Turkey was seen in May 2023.
The ad stated “Now you can get the perfect body that you have always dreamed of. Aestheal Hospital offers you its best offers in the following plastic surgeries” and listed “breast filler (silicone) Liposuction 360 tummy tuck G Plasma Self-fat injection in the backside Five plastic surgeries with a financial value of 4999 €, including all the services below […]”.
The ad included an image with large text that stated “Are You Ready For Summer?” and featured a woman with lines connecting the relevant parts of her body to text that stated “Silicone Chest”, “360 Liposuction”, “Tummy Tuck”, “BBL” and “J Plasma”. Further text stated “MEDICAL TRANSLATION SERVICE 24/24”, “ACCOMMODATION IN A 5 STAR HOTEL FOR 7 DAYS”, “FREE VIP TRANSPORTATION” and “4999€ THE PRICE INCLUDES ALL OPERATIONS AND SERVICES”. The telephone numbers and website address of Aestheal Clinic were shown at the bottom of the ad.
Text underneath the image stated “Now you can get the perfect body that you have always dreamed of […] Aestheal Hospital offers you its best offers…” and included a button to “Learn More”.
Issue
The ASA challenged whether the:
1. claim “Now you can get the perfect body that you have always dreamed of” created unrealistic expectations about the results of the cosmetic surgery and exploited women's insecurities around body image, and was therefore irresponsible;
2. claim “Are You Ready For Summer?” was irresponsible because it trivialised the decision to have cosmetic surgery and pressured consumers into booking a surgical appointment before summer; and
3. ad misleadingly omitted information regarding the need for a pre-consultation to assess the patient’s potential contraindications and suitability for the procedures, including where such a pre-consultation would take place.
Response
1., 2. & 3. Aestheal Clinic did not respond to the ASA’s enquiries.
Meta had no comments in relation to the ASA’s investigation.
Assessment
The ASA was concerned by Aestheal Clinic’s lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.7 (Unreasonable delay). We reminded them of their responsibility to respond promptly to our enquiries and told them to do so in future.
1. Upheld
The CAP Code required marketing communications to be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society.
The ad, which promoted a cosmetic surgery and travel package to Turkey, showed an image of a young slim woman and repeated the claim “Now you can get the perfect body that you have always dreamed of” three times. Text also read “Are You Ready for Summer?” and listed five cosmetic procedures included in the package for the price of €4,999.
We considered the image would be understood by consumers as representing the potential result of the five cosmetic interventions advertised. We considered that the use of the words “perfect” and “dreamed of” could create unrealistic expectations of what could be achievable with the surgery package, the actual end result of which would depend on the consumer’s original body shape and the overall success of the different surgeries. We considered that the placement of the photo next to the text exploited those women who have pre-existing insecurities around body image. By presenting such an aspirational image alongside emotive language (“perfect” and “dreamed of”) in the context of five cosmetic interventions, we considered that the ad also created unrealistic expectations about surgery results.
We considered that the ad had not been prepared in a socially responsible manner, and therefore concluded that it breached the Code.
On that point the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.3 (Social responsibility).
2. Upheld
We considered that cosmetic surgery should be portrayed as something that required time and thought from consumers, because of the seriousness of a decision to undertake an invasive medical procedure.
The ad appeared in May 2023. By using the claim “Are You Ready for Summer?” alongside claims to get the “perfect body you have always dreamed of” and an aspirational photo, consumers could be rushed into make an important decision about having cosmetic surgery, before summer, without having sufficient time to consider the consequences. In addition, the strong implication in the ad that consumers could achieve this look in time for summer added to this overall impression of a quick and easy transformation and recovery.
Because it created a sense of undue urgency to respond quickly, and trivialised the decision to have surgery we considered that the ad had not been prepared in a socially responsible manner, and therefore concluded that it breached the Code.
On that point the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.3 (Social responsibility).
3. Upheld
The CAP Guidance on Cosmetic interventions stated that marketers should not imply that invasive surgery was a “minor procedure” or similar if that claim was likely to mislead as to the complexity or duration of the operation, the possible pain experienced either during or after the operation, the length of the recovery time or the potential side-effects. Ads should not mislead as to the likely commitment required for pre-consultation, surgery, recovery and post-operative assessments.
While the ad referenced a “Free Preview”, we considered it was not clear whether this related to a pre-consultation. In any case, it omitted information regarding the need for a pre-consultation to assess the patient’s potential contraindications and suitability for the five procedures advertised, including where such a pre-consultation would take place. We understood that a pre-consultation would be necessary in order to discuss the patient’s concerns and suitability for the procedures, outline the complexity or duration of the operations, the possible pain during or after the operation, the length of recovery time and the potential risks and side effects. While we had not received a response from the advertiser, we understood it was likely that those pre-consultations might sometimes need to take place in person rather than remotely. We considered that in the context of an ad for cosmetic surgery abroad, information regarding the necessity for pre-consultations and where those would take place was material information necessary for consumers to make a considered decision and should have been included in the ad. Because that material information was not included in the ad we concluded that it was misleading.
On that point the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 and 3.3 (Misleading advertising).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained about. We told Aestheal Clinic to ensure their future ads were socially responsible, by not giving consumers idealised expectations of what could be achieved with surgery, exploiting women’s insecurities around body image, or presenting the decision to have cosmetic surgery as a decision that should be rushed. We also told them not to mislead consumers by omitting material information regarding cosmetic surgery procedures abroad and the need for a pre-consultation, including where it would take place. We referred the matter to CAP’s Compliance team.
