Background
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.
This Ruling forms part of a wider piece of work on cosmetic surgery abroad. The ads were identified for investigation following intelligence gathering by our Active Ad Monitoring system, which uses AI to proactively search for online ads that might break the rules.
Summary of Council decision:
Three issues were investigated, all of which were Upheld.
Ad description
A paid-for Facebook ad for Erdem Clinic, promoting cosmetic surgery in Turkey, seen in May 2023.
The caption stated “Don’t let your nose overshadow your face. Get the look you dream of with Nose Job treatment. Choose to be the greater beauty that you can be”. The ad included a profile image of a woman. Additional text stated “RHINOPLASTY IN TURKEY Up to 30% discounts on combined operations www.erdemclinic.com”.
Issue
The ASA challenged whether the:
1. claim “Up to 30% discounts on combined operations” pressured consumers into undertaking more cosmetic interventions and was therefore irresponsible;
2. claim “Don’t let your nose overshadow your face […] Choose to be the greater beauty that you can be” exploited insecurities around body image and was therefore irresponsible; 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 pre-consultation would take place.
Response
1., 2. & 3. Erdem Clinic did not respond to the ASA’s enquiries.
Meta said they did not have any comments.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA was concerned by Erdem 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 ASA considered that although it would not necessarily be irresponsible to offer promotions for surgical procedures, marketers must take particular care when executing and administering them. Cosmetic surgery should be portrayed as something that required time and thought from consumers before proceeding, because of the seriousness of a decision to undertake an invasive medical procedure.
The focus of the ad was on promoting rhinoplasty procedures. Consumers most likely to engage with the ad were therefore those who were self-conscious about the shape of their nose, which would include some who would already be considering the possibility of having a rhinoplasty. In that context we considered the inclusion of the prominent claim “Up to 30% discounts on combined operations” was likely to pressure people who would otherwise be interested only in a rhinoplasty procedure into also having other cosmetic surgery procedures at the same time.
Because the ad pressured consumers to undertake more cosmetic interventions than they otherwise would, we considered it had not been prepared in a socially responsible manner and therefore breached the Code.
On that point the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.3 (Responsible advertising).
2. Upheld
The ad featured the claim “Don’t let your nose overshadow your face […] Choose to be the greater beauty that you can be” and a photo of a woman who had a small, straight and slightly upturned nose. We considered the wording and image would be interpreted by consumers – particularly women – as suggesting that having a nose that did not conform to prevailing beauty standards was a source of concern that should be rectified by cosmetic surgery.
We therefore considered the ad was likely to encourage consumers, particularly women, to focus on concerns about the shape of their nose as a reason for cosmetic surgery and therefore that the ad exploited those insecurities. We concluded the ad was also socially irresponsible for that reason.
On that point the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.3 (Responsible advertising).
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 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.
Aside from referencing the country in which the procedure would take place, the ad contained no further details about the procedure or the location where it would take place. The ad omitted information regarding the need for a pre-consultation to assess the patient’s potential contraindications and suitability for rhinoplasty, 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 procedure, outline the complexity or duration of the operation, the 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 pre-consultation 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 a pre-consultation and where it 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 we considered that the ad 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 investigated. We told Erdem Clinic to ensure their future ads were socially responsible, by not pressuring consumers into undertaking more cosmetic interventions than they otherwise would and not exploiting insecurities about body image. 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 the CAP Compliance team.
