Ad description
A You Tube pre-roll paid for ad for Juniper Technologies, for a weight-loss programme, seen on 4 July 2022, showed a woman speaking about how she had lost weight with the programme: “Before Juniper, my appetite never had an off switch. But now I actually stop eating when I feel full … Once I answered a few questions about my health, I was connected with a doctor who prescribed me a treatment that acts as an appetite suppressant … Juniper’s treatment means I can stabilise my metabolism so losing weight is in my control”.
Issue
The ASA challenged whether the ad breached the Code because it advertised semaglutide, a prescription-only medicine, to the public.Response
Juniper Technologies UK Ltd (Juniper) said they had taken action to disable the You Tube ad which had displayed images of the medication. They had also amended the landing page which the ad linked to so that the words “the prescription of Semaglutide [sic] (Ozempic)” no longer appeared. They said they were willing to make more changes to ensure the ad complied with the Code.Assessment
Upheld
The CAP Code stated that prescription-only medicines or prescription-only medical treatments may not be advertised to the public.
The ASA understood that semaglutide (Ozempic) was a prescription-only medicine.The ASA acknowledged that the ad featured a participant who spoke about how she had lost weight with the programme. Nevertheless, as part of that, she described how she had been put in touch with a doctor who had prescribed the treatment; how the treatment acted as an appetite suppressant and how it had increased feelings of fullness and decreased feelings of hunger. Although the medicine was not identified by name, we understood that the treatment being referred to in the ad was semaglutide (Ozempic). We therefore considered the ad indirectly promoted a prescription-only medicine to the general public.
We acknowledged that Juniper had taken action to disable the ad and amend the landing page and that they were willing to make further changes. However, because at the time the ad appeared, it advertised a prescription-only medicine to the public, we concluded that it breached the Code.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 12.12 12.12 Advertisements for weight-control or slimming products must not suggest or imply that to be underweight is acceptable or desirable. If they are used, testimonials or case histories must not refer to subjects who are or seem to be underweight. Underweight, for the purpose of this rule, means a Body Mass Index below 20. (Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Juniper Technologies UK Ltd not to promote prescription-only medicines to the general public in future.
