Background
Summary of Council decision:
Two issues were investigated, both of which were Upheld.
Ad description
The website homepage www.serenity-method.com, for The Serenity Method, seen on 14 November 2023, claimed “ENDING ANXIETY FOR THOUSANDS” and included a button “WATCH OUR FREE TRAINING”. Further text included “Ready to BUY The Serenity Method?” and “I want to introduce you to a new breakthrough in treating anxiety disorders. My name is Lawrence Leyton and I’m an expert on anxiety, panic attacks, and phobias. I’ve had many prime-time TV shows based around my unique techniques”. The button redirected to a page that stated “DISCOVER HOW ‘COGNITIVE DELETION’ CAN PERMANENTLY ELIMINATE ANXIETY IN LESS THAN 14 DAYS”.
An embedded video on the page featured Mr Leyton, labelled as an “Anxiety, Panic Attack & Phobia Expert” who stated, “In this video today, I’m going to share how an unorthodox new method will permanently remove anxiety out of your life in 14 days or less […] this unique method, which is called ‘Cognitive Deletion’, has already helped thousands of people around the world to permanently eliminate anxiety… any type of anxiety, social anxiety, health anxiety, OCD and even PTSD, so there’s no reason why it won’t work for you too. Many people don’t realise that they have General Anxiety […] And once you address it, you’ll wake up every day with a smile on your face, springing out of bed full of energy, motivated and most importantly, happy. […] The reason why ‘Cognitive Deletion’ works so fast and is so effective is because it’s the only method that stops overthinking, and if you’re not overthinking your anxiety disappears. It’s that simple […] ‘Cognitive Deletion’ is far superior to CBT, hypnosis, medication, or any other form of talking therapy because those therapies don’t stop you overthinking, they just make you acutely aware of your thoughts, and in some ways, they amplify them […] In fact, the only way to permanently eliminate anxiety is ‘Cognitive Deletion’ […]” Later in the video Mr Leyton described how he had helped people with a fear of flying. The video also featured examples of two groups of people, described as having “severe anxiety related to heights” and “extreme anxiety about small spaces”, before Cognitive Deletion cured them of those phobias. A woman described how her social anxiety, which included suffering from panic attacks, was cured.
Text below the ad stated, “An unorthodox new method called; ‘Cognitive Deletion’ has already helped thousands of people around the world to permanently eliminate anxiety... any type of anxiety, social anxiety, health, anxiety, OCD and even PTSD, so there’s no reason why it won’t work for you too […]”.
Issue
The complainant challenged whether:
1. the claim that The Serenity Method could permanently eliminate anxiety, panic attacks and phobias in less than 14 days was misleading and could be substantiated; and
2. the ad discouraged essential treatment for conditions for which medical supervision should be sought, namely OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).
Response
1. & 2. Lark Holdings Ltd t/a The Serenity Method did not respond to the ASA’s enquiries.
Assessment
The ASA was concerned by Lark Holdings Ltd t/a The Serenity Method’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 consumers would understand the claims “ENDING ANXIETY FOR THOUSANDS” and “DISCOVER HOW ‘COGNITIVE DELETION’ CAN PERMANENTLY ELIMINATE ANXIETY IN LESS THAN 14 DAYS!” to mean that The Serenity Method programme was capable of permanently eliminating anxiety in less than 14 days. The homepage directed to a video, which included the further claims “I’m going to share how an unorthodox new method will permanently remove anxiety out of your life in 14 days or less. […] ‘Cognitive Deletion’ has already helped thousands of people around the world to permanently eliminate anxiety… any type of anxiety”, and “in fact, the only way to permanently eliminate anxiety is ‘Cognitive Deletion’”. We considered that the further claims featured in the video, in addition to the accompanying text “‘Cognitive Deletion’ has already helped thousands of people around the world to permanently eliminate anxiety... any type of anxiety […]” further reinforced the above impression, which would be understood by consumers to be relevant to all types of anxiety.
The website’s homepage included the claim that Lawrence Leyton “taught over 10,000 phobics how to overcome their fear of flying” and that he was an expert on “phobias” and the video made similar references. Additionally, the video featured footage of groups of people who were described as having “severe anxiety related to heights” and “extreme anxiety about small spaces”. ‘Before’ and ‘after’ footage showed them initially exhibiting extreme distress when exposed to heights or small spaces, and then being relaxed and calm in the same situations. We considered that in the context of the ad consumers would understand that The Serenity Method programme and Cognitive Deletion could cure phobias such as aerophobia, acrophobia and claustrophobia in 14 days or less.
Mr Leyton was also described as an expert on panic attacks, and the video featured a woman who described suffering from panic attacks as a symptom of her social anxiety. We considered that in the context of the ad, consumers would understand that The Serenity Method programme and Cognitive Deletion could cure panic attacks in 14 days or less.
We therefore expected to see robust documentary evidence substantiating the claims to treat or cure anxiety, phobias and panic attacks, consisting of clinical trials conducted on people. However, we received no evidence from the advertiser to substantiate that the Serenity Method programme and Cognitive Deletion were capable of permanently eliminating any type of anxiety, phobias or panic attacks in less than 14 days (or at all). In the absence of such evidence, we concluded that the claims had not been substantiated and were therefore misleading.
On that point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation), and 12.1 (Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products).
2. Upheld
The CAP Code stated that marketers must not discourage essential treatment for conditions for which medical supervision should be sought. For example, they must not offer specific advice on, diagnosis or treatment for such conditions unless that advice, diagnosis or treatment was conducted under the supervision of a suitably qualified medical professional.
The ad included several references to The Serenity Method programme and Cognitive Deletion being an effective treatment for OCD and PTSD. The ASA considered that these were conditions for which medical supervision should be sought. Because The Serenity Method had not supplied evidence that showed that their programme was conducted under the supervision of a suitably qualified medical professional, we concluded that the ad discouraged essential treatment for conditions for which medical supervision should be sought, and therefore breached the Code.
On that point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 12.2 (Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Lark Holdings Ltd t/a The Serenity Method to ensure they did not make claims that stated or implied that they could permanently eliminate anxiety, panic attacks and phobias in less than 14 days. We also told them not to make claims that discouraged essential treatment for a condition for which medical supervision should be sought, including the conditions OCD and PTSD. We referred the matter to CAP’s Compliance team.
