Ad description
A paid-for TikTok ad for Better Me, @BetterMe: Health Coaching, seen on 16 March 2024 featured a video of a muscular man posing and looking at the reflection of his bare chest in a mirror. Small text at the bottom of the screen stated, “*Actor portrayal”. The voice-over said, “I look like this and I didn’t even go to the gym.” Another scene showed the man speaking into a microphone saying, “About 28 days ago I started Better Me’s 28-day Calisthenic Challenge. I just finished up and I can say it is one of the greatest workout plans on the entire market. They give you a step-by step guide for all the workouts so it’s perfect for any level. Make sure you guys download at the link below.” The ad showed the man doing press-ups and examples of the exercises.
Issue
The complainant, who believed the ad implied that viewers could obtain a similar physique in 28 days using the Better Me 28-day Calisthenic Challenge programme, challenged whether the ad was misleading.Response
BetterMe Ltd said the ad did not claim that the results shown were solely achievable through their program or within the specified 28-day period using their app alone. It did not feature any before and after transformations. The 28-day Calisthenic Challenge was structured as a starting point for new users to integrate regular physical activity into their lives, which emphasised the start of a fitness journey, rather than specific outcomes. It was not intended to be a standalone, comprehensive fitness solution, but rather an entry-level program to motivate users to adopt a long-term approach to fitness. Additionally, users had access to a wide range of other fitness programmes including running, yoga, boot camp and other types of workouts. The programme also included access to diet plans.
BetterMe said they used the “actor portrayal” disclaimer to communicate that the individuals depicted in their ads were professional actors. They said it was prominently displayed at the start of the ad with the font and size necessary to ensure it was seen by viewers before any claims were made. By using the disclaimer, they aimed to set realistic expectations and maintain transparency about the illustrative purpose of the portrayal. BetterMe provided examples of ads for fitness products by other companies which they said contained the same disclaimer.
The decision to use a professional actor in the ad was driven by several factors. Many of their users were concerned about their privacy and personal exposure, and so it was very challenging to find real users who were willing to share their experiences in a public and highly visible ad. Although the current ad featured an actor, their ads were grounded in actual user experiences, and they were actively working towards involving real participants and incorporating user testimonials and success stories in upcoming campaigns. They maintained a collection of real user stories and visual before-and-after feedback that featured on their marketing channels and substantiated the claims in the ads.
BetterMe said the ad was reviewed by their legal and compliance teams to ensure it met all relevant regulatory standards. However, in response to the complaint, they would extend the length of time the “actor portrayal” disclaimer appeared in their ads and would amend the size and style of the font to ensure it was seen by viewers before any claims were made. They would also include additional disclaimers that “individual results may vary” and dietary changes were necessary to achieve results in any similar future ads. They believed these changes would help set clearer expectations and assure viewers that results differed from person to person and would depend on various factors, including, but not limited to, individual effort, body type and adherence to the programme.
Assessment
Upheld
The ad featured a muscular man posing in the mirror and the claims, “I look like this and I didn’t even go to the gym” and “About 28 days ago I started BetterMe’s 28-day Calisthenic Challenge. I just finished up and I can say it is one of the greatest workout plans on the entire market.” The ASA considered viewers would understand that the man featured in the ad had recently completed BetterMe’s 28-day Calisthenic Challenge and had achieved a significant increase in the level of his muscularity as a result of completing the programme. We also considered, that in this context, viewers would associate going to the gym with using equipment likely to increase build and muscle tone and therefore the ad implied that a similar physique could be achieved in 28 days without going to the gym.
We understood that calisthenics was a form of exercise that strengthened muscles by using an individual’s body weight as resistance and required little or no equipment. We considered that achieving a physique similar to the man who was featured in the ad would require a combination of exercises along with dietary changes over a period of time longer than 28 days. The ad did not include any ‘before’ images or information about the man’s level of fitness prior to starting BetterMe’s programme. However, the overall impression of the ad was that he had achieved a significant change in his muscular build solely by completing the Calisthenic Challenge without any other exercises or dietary changes, and by not using equipment traditionally found in a gym.
Because we had not seen evidence that that was the case, we considered the ad was misleading and exaggerated the physical effects achievable on the programme within 28 days.The qualification “actor portrayal” was on-screen at the start of the ad, but was written in small, white font against a light background at the bottom of the screen, beneath other large, bold on-screen text. It was also on-screen very briefly. We considered those factors meant it was likely to be missed by viewers. Notwithstanding that, even if viewers had seen it, we considered that the claims, “I started Better Me’s 28-day Calisthenic Challenge”, “I just finished up”, “I can say”, along with the scene of the man doing press-ups, gave the impression that he had personally completed the programme when that was not the case. We therefore considered that the qualification “actor portrayal” contradicted those claims.
We noted that BetterMe said they would extend the length of time that “actor portrayal” appeared on screen and would amend the size and font of the text. They would also add further qualifications that “individual results may vary” and that dietary changes were necessary to achieve any results.
However, we considered that would still be insufficient to counter the impression that the person featured in the ad had actually completed the programme and had achieved a significant increase in their muscular build in 28 days.Because the ad gave the impression that the man featured had completed Better Me’s 28-day Calisthenic Challenge when that was not the case, and we had not seen evidence that a significant increase in muscularity was achievable after 28 days using the programme, we concluded that the ad was misleading and exaggerated the capability of the programme.The ad breached the CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1, 3.3 (Misleading Advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation), 3.9, 3.10 (Qualification) and 3.11 (Exaggeration).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told BetterMe Ltd to ensure that their future ads did not misleadingly represent or exaggerate the capabilities of their exercise programme. We also told them to ensure that qualifications did not contradict the claims they were intended to clarify.
