Background
This Ruling forms part of a wider piece of work on ads making claims about the treatment of symptoms of the menopause. 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 MenoDaily, a supplement company, seen on 5 April 2024, included a caption that stated, “I’ve lost 8kgs [sic], have zero bloating (used to look 9 months pregnant daily!), my moods are calm and I have so much energy”. Further text stated, “Day 1: Zero brain fog and I feel calmer”, “Day 3: Bloating is GONE & my pants fit better”, “Day 7: I get no hot flashes [sic] – sleep like a baby”, “Day 14: I see a difference on my hips and waist”, “Day 28: All my energy is back – feel like my old self again”.
The ad contained an image with three bottles of the supplements and which stated on the label “Hormone Harmony”. Text underneath stated, “Gave me my old self back. Ended my bloating and hormonal weight. Boosts my energy, mood and desire […] It Balanced My Hormones and the Old Me Is Back”.
Issue
The ASA challenged whether the ad included claims about food supplements which were prohibited by the Code:
1. stated and implied claims that the supplements, or substances in them, could help to prevent, treat or cure symptoms of the menopause; and
2. a health claim which referred to a rate or amount of weight loss.
Response
1. & 2. Happy Koala LLC t/a MenoDaily said the ad had been shown in error and that it had been removed from being shown to consumers in the UK.
As a result of the ASA’s investigation, they had sought third-party advice in relation to the marketing of food supplements in the UK and confirmed they would implement internal training on the issues that had been flagged.
Assessment
1. Upheld
The CAP Code stated that claims which stated or implied a food could prevent, treat or cure human disease were prohibited for foods and food supplements.The ad stated, “Gave me my old self back […] Boosts my energy, mood and desire”. The ad also stated, “Zero brain fog and I feel calmer”, “I get no hot flashes [sic] – sleep like a baby”, “All my energy is back – feel like my old self again”. The ASA considered consumers would understand these to be claims that the product could help with brain fog, hot flushes and low energy levels.
The ad also stated, “I’ve lost 8kgs [sic], have zero bloating (used to look 9 months pregnant daily!)”, “Bloating is GONE & my pants fit better” and “I see a difference on my hips and waist”, which we considered consumers would understand to mean that the supplements could help with weight loss. Lastly, the ad stated, “It Balanced My Hormones and the Old Me Is Back!” and the ad contained an image of the product that stated on the label “Hormone Harmony”, which we also considered would be understood by consumers to mean that it could resolve low hormone levels.
We acknowledged that the ad did not state explicitly that the product could help with the menopause. However, we considered in the context of the ad, that the symptoms referenced, along with the name of the advertiser being “MenoDaily”, would be understood by consumers to mean that the advertised food supplements could treat symptoms of the menopause, namely: brain fog, hot flushes, low energy levels, menopause related weight gain, and low hormone levels. Such claims were, for the purposes of the Code, claims to treat disease, which were prohibited for food and food supplements. The ad therefore breached the Code.On that point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 15.6 and 15.6.2 (Food, food supplements and associated health or nutrition claims).
2. Upheld
The CAP Code stated that health claims that referred to a rate or amount of weight loss were not permitted when made in relation to a food. Claims that consuming a food or food supplement could result in weight loss were health claims.
The ad stated, “I’ve lost 8kgs”, presented as a testimonial. We considered consumers would understand the claim to mean that as a result of consuming these supplements, the person giving the testimonial had lost 8 kg of weight.
Because the ad included a health claim, made in relation to food, that referred to an amount of weight loss, we concluded that it breached the Code.
On that point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 15.6 and 15.6.6 (Food, food supplements and associated health and nutrition claims).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form investigated.
We told Happy Koala LLC t/a MenoDaily not to state or imply their food supplements could prevent, treat or cure human disease, which for the purposes of the Code included claims to treat or cure the symptoms of menopause. We also told them to ensure their advertising did not include health claims that referred to a rate or amount of weight loss.
