Background
This Ruling forms part of a wider piece of enforcement work on weight loss supplements. The ad was 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.
Summary of Council decision:
Two issues were investigated, both of which were Upheld.
Ad description
A paid-for Facebook ad for Happy Mammoth Hormone Harmony, seen on 1 February 2024, featured an image of a woman in gym attire, with superimposed text “10 kg GONE (and I didn’t even try)”. The caption stated, “I’m 48, and I lost 10 kg without even trying! Day 21: Hormonal weight around the waist and hips is gone”.
Additional text below the ad stated, “Feel the difference in 24 hours!” and included a “Learn More” button which directed to a Happy Mammoth product page for “New & Ultra Potent Hormone Harmony”.
Issue
The ASA challenged whether:
- the weight loss claims were specific health claims authorised on the Great Britain nutrition and health claims register (GB (NHC) Register); and
- the ad included references to a rate or amount of weight loss, and that weight or fat could be lost from specific parts of the body, which were prohibited by the Code.
Response
1. & 2. Happy Koala LLC t/a Happy Mammoth said that the ad was not among their current sponsored ads on Facebook. They said that if the content did appear in the UK, this was done in error.
They confirmed that they were seeking third party regulatory support in relation to making specific health claims for the Happy Mammoth Hormone Harmony product.
Assessment
1. Upheld
The CAP Code stated that health claims were defined as those that stated, suggested or implied that a relationship existed between a food category, a food or one of its constituents and health, and that included food supplements. Only health claims that were authorised on the GB (NHC) Register could be made in ads promoting foods, and marketers must also ensure that they met the conditions of use associated with the claims in question.
The ASA considered that the claims “10 kg GONE (and I didn’t even try)”, “I lost 10 kg without even trying!” and “Hormonal weight around the waist and hips is gone” suggested a relationship between the Happy Mammoth Hormone Harmony supplement and beneficial health effects on specific physiological functions (namely weight loss), and were therefore specific health claims for the purposes of the Code.
We therefore examined whether the advertising claims corresponded to authorised claims on the GB (NHC) Register. We noted that there were no authorised claims in relation to the loss of hormonal weight. That claim was therefore in breach of the Code. There were a limited number of authorised claims relating to weight loss. However, we had not seen any evidence that the claims in the ad corresponded to any of those authorised claims, or that the Happy Mammoth Hormone Harmony supplement met the conditions of use associated with any of those claims. Because the ad included specific health claims that were not authorised on the GB Register, we concluded that it breached the Code.
On that point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 15.1, 15.1.1 (Food, food supplements and associated health or nutrition claims) and 15.7 (Food supplements and other vitamins and minerals).
2. Upheld
The CAP Code stated that marketing communications must not contain claims that people could lose weight or fat from specific parts of the body. It further stated that ads for foods and supplements could not refer to a rate or amount of weight loss.The ad included the claims “10 kg GONE (and I didn’t even try)”, “I lost 10 kg without even trying!” and “Hormonal weight around the waist and hips is gone”. Because the ad was for a supplement and made references to an amount of weight loss (10kg), and claimed that weight or fat could be lost from a specific part of the body (“around the waist and hips”), we concluded that the ad breached the Code.
On that point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 13.9 (Weight control and slimming) and 15.6 and 15.6.6 (Food, food supplements and associated health or nutrition claims).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form investigated. We told Happy Koala LLC t/a Happy Mammoth to ensure that any specific health claims made in their future advertising were authorised on the GB (NHC) Register and met the associated conditions of use for those claims. We also told them to ensure that when advertising supplements their ads did not contain claims that people could lose weight or fat from specific parts of the body, or refer to a rate or amount of weight loss.
