Ad description
A teleshopping presentation for a Luna’Mour MF-IP 5 in 1 body contouring slimming device, seen on 20 March 2023, featured a woman and a man discussing and demonstrating the product.
During the course of the presentation, a number of claims relating to the device’s capacity to induce weight loss, and the rate at which it would occur, were made, including: “And what this device does, more quickly really than anything else you can buy here, or really anywhere, it looks at fat ... and you can make dramatic differences to fat, muscle tone, skin texture in twenty minutes. You can get visible, tangible results”; “[…] MFIP ? Medium Frequency Interval Pulse [...] This is a brand-new hybrid technology. It's the latest thing in slimming ... you only use it once a week for twenty minutes on any area of fat […] She got rid of her bingo wings in just a couple of weeks”; “Using this for 10 minutes […] is the equivalent of jogging for two hours, swimming for an hour, because […] you lose about 1,000 calories by swimming for an hour, cycling for two kilometres, dieting for a month, or, [...] 200 hours of yoga”; “You’re getting smoother skin by helping to blast away fat, helping to blast away cellulite, turning that solid into a liquid”; “It’s strengthening the muscles”; “Because, of course, EMS will help burn off calories. And if you’re blasting fat, [presenter name], if you’re taking something from a solid with a tangible weight and turning it into a liquid and weeing it out, then you’re weeing out weight”; “Wouldn’t you rather dissolve cellulite and wee it out”. And in relation to the device’s Medium Frequency Interval Pulse feature “Yeah, it’s a new hybrid proven technology, which is safe to use, and it combines so many different elements to create a supergroup of slimming, and contouring, and fat blasting […] the fat annihilator, the fat destroyer”.
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the weight loss claims for the device were misleading and could be substantiated.Response
Shop TJC Ltd confirmed they would not repeat the claims made in the presentation and would suspend promotion of the Luna’Mour MF-IP 5 in 1 body contouring slimming device. They said the complaint had been discussed with the presenters involved, and they had informed the device’s manufacturer of the complaint and the actions they were taking. Additionally, they were working to develop a training programme for relevant staff that outlined their responsibilities under the BCAP Code.Assessment
Upheld
The ASA considered consumers would understand the claims “Using this for 10 minutes […] is the equivalent of jogging for two hours”, “the fat annihilator”, “the fat destroyer”, “You're getting smoother skin by helping to blast away fat, helping to blast away cellulite, turning that solid into a liquid”, “Because, of course, EMS will help burn off calories”, and “Wouldn’t you rather dissolve cellulite and wee it out” as meaning the advertised device was capable of inducing weight loss by burning or otherwise removing body fat at a rapid rate. However, we had not seen any evidence the device could produce the claimed effects. We therefore concluded the ad was misleading.
The ad breached BCAP rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.9 (Substantiation) and 3.12 (Exaggeration).
Action
The presentation must not be broadcast again in the form complained of. We told Shop TJC Ltd to ensure their future ads did not exaggerate the capabilities and performance of their products, and to ensure they held adequate substantiation for any claims they made.
