Ad description
A TikTok post on the ManCave Bartender account @mancavebartender, posted on 21 November 2023. The voice-over stated, “MAKING THE … ULTIMATE HANGOVER CURE”, while the song “Hangover” played in the background. It featured a bartender mixing various ingredients to make a drink. On-screen text then stated “NO NO NOOOO!!!”. He then pulled out two sachets of Hangcure Rebound. “JUST TAKE HANGCURE REBOUND, TAKE 2 CAPSULES BEFORE DRINKING”. He was then shown taking two of the pills. On-screen text stated “NO NEED FOR CRAZY REMEDIES ANYMORE”. The ad included a TikTok shop link on the video to purchase the Hangcure Rebound food supplement.
The caption stated “Making The Ultimate Hangover cure cocktail [tropical drink emoji] Or… Get up to 40% off Hangcure Rebound […] Juat [sic] take 2 before and 2 after drinking [star-struck emoji] #hangcure #hangcurerebound #ultimatehangovercure #tiktokshop #hangover #hangoverremedies”. The ad included a label “Commission paid”.
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the stated and implied claims in the ad, including the product name, that the product could help hangovers was a claim that a food could prevent, treat or cure disease, which were prohibited by the Code.Response
Hangcure Ltd said that they were committed to being compliant with advertising regulation and had taken corrective action. They had contacted the creator of the video and confirmed that the video was removed. They also removed the product from affiliate marketing on TikTok Shop because they were unable to control the claims made by affiliates, to ensure that similar incidents did not happen in future. They understood that they could not claim to cure or treat hangovers; however, this was an affiliate post on TikTok and not posted on their own page. For this reason, they were unaware of the post until they were notified of the complaint. Regarding the name Hangcure, they said that this was a brand name, not a product name, and was derived from the acronyms of their company’s values: honesty, authenticity, non-stop improvement, growth, community, understanding, reliability and ethical. The Hangcure brand sold a number of different products ranging from electrolytes to teas.Assessment
Upheld
The Code prohibited claims that stated or implied a food or drink could prevent, treat or cure human disease. This also applied to product or brand names that included stated or implied claims that the food or drink product could prevent, treat or cure human disease. The ASA considered that a hangover and the symptoms associated with a hangover, such as nausea, dehydration, headache, vomiting and stomach upset, were adverse medical conditions, and as such, claims which stated or implied that a food or drink could prevent, treat or cure a hangover were prohibited under this rule.
We considered that the claims “JUST TAKE HANGCURE REBOUND, TAKE 2 CAPSULES BEFORE DRINKING” and “NO NEED FOR CRAZY REMEDIES ANYMORE”, together with the caption which featured the hashtags “#hangcure #hangcurerebound #ultimatehangovercure […] #hangover #hangoverremedies”, would be understood by consumers to mean that the product could help to prevent a hangover.
We further assessed the brand name Hangcure and the product name Hangcure Rebound. We considered that the word Hangcure would be understood by consumers to be a shorthand for "hangover cure”, and would therefore be understood as a claim that the Hangcure Rebound product, and other products sold under the Hangcure brand name, could prevent or cure a hangover. The product and brand names were therefore a claim to prevent, treat or cure hangovers, which was prohibited by the Code.
Because the ad included claims that a food supplement could prevent, treat or cure a human disease, we concluded it breached the Code.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 15.6 and 15.6.2 (Food, food supplements and associated health or nutrition claims).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Hangcure Ltd not to make claims, which stated or implied a food or drink product could prevent, treat or cure hangovers, including in product and brand names.
