Ad description
An email from Transform, a cosmetic surgery company, received on 29 January 2022, featured the subject line, “What can surgery do for you?”. The body of the email included the heading “WHAT SURGERY CAN DO FOR YOU” and continued “For many patients, the most exciting part of their journey with us is knowing how great they’ll look and feel following their procedure – but there are so many other victories to celebrate along the way …”. The email continued “INCREASED ENERGY LEVELS Finally having the surgery you’ve been dreaming [sic] can give you an energy boost! You’ll enjoy doing the things you love, such as exercising, travelling, or spending time outdoors whilst showing off your results”, “GLOWING SKIN Depending on the procedure you’ve had, you might make changes to your lifestyle, skincare routine or diet – all of which can have a positive impact on your skin and overall appearance, so that you glow from the inside out”, “IMPROVED WELLBEING When you change something that has been affecting your confidence, mobility or health, you might find that your mental and physical wellbeing also improve”, “GETTING MORE SLEEP Increased physical activity following recovery, as well as a healthy and balanced lifestyle, can improve sleep quality. Say hello to a restful night!” and “FEELING BETTER IN YOURSELF As you start to see your dream profile become a reality, you’ll find that you start to feel more comfortable in yourself”. The email included a button to “ENQUIRE NOW”.
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the ad was irresponsible because it trivialised the decision to have cosmetic surgery and exaggerated its benefits.Response
Transform Hospital Group Ltd t/a Transform said the email did not state that the outcomes were guaranteed. They did not believe that the email trivialised the decision to have cosmetic surgery or exaggerated its benefits. They said the outcomes referenced in the email were genuine and could be attested to by their patients. They provided testimonials from a number of their patients that reflected the benefits referenced in the email.
They provided information on their consent process that prospective patients had to go through before they could have surgery.
Assessment
Upheld
The CAP Code required marketing communications to be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society.
The ad included the subject heading “What can surgery do for you?”, and the body of the email included the claim “… there are so many other victories to celebrate along the way”. The email went on to discuss outcomes that could come as a result of having cosmetic surgery, which included changes to energy levels, skin appearance, sleep duration and wellbeing. We considered that the ad would be understood by readers to mean that cosmetic surgery would have benefits for mental and physical wellbeing.
We considered that the claims “FEELING BETTER IN YOURSELF As you start to see your dream profile become a reality, you’ll find that you start to feel more comfortable in yourself” and “IMPROVED WELLBEING When you change something that has been affecting your confidence, mobility or health, you might find that your mental and physical wellbeing also improve” implied that by changing their physical appearance, an individual could resolve their physical and mental health concerns.
We considered that the claim “INCREASED ENERGY LEVELS … You’ll enjoy doing the things you love, such as exercising, travelling, or spending time outdoors …” implied that, before having surgery, an individual would have less energy and not get enjoyment from the things they loved, and that by changing their physical appearance they would now have more energy and be able to enjoy those things.
We considered that the claim “GETTING MORE SLEEP Increased physical activity following recovery … can improve sleep quality” assumed that, by changing their physical appearance, an individual would increase the amount of physical activity they did and make other changes to their lifestyle. Because increased sleep duration was not a direct outcome of cosmetic surgery, we considered that the claim exaggerated its benefits.
We considered that the claim “GLOWING SKIN … you might make changes to your lifestyle, skincare routine or diet – all of which can have a positive impact on your skin and overall appearance” assumed that, by changing their physical appearance through cosmetic surgery, an individual would be more likely to make changes to their lifestyle, diet, and skincare routine. We acknowledged that the ad stated, “you might make changes” and therefore the outcome was dependant on an individual making those changes. However, we considered that, because improved skin appearance was not a direct outcome of cosmetic surgery, the claim exaggerated the benefits of cosmetic surgery.
We recognised that the email was sent to consumers who had chosen to receive marketing communications from Transform and was therefore aimed at consumers who were interested in surgery. However, we considered that the focus on those outcomes and the tone of the ad served to exaggerate the benefits of cosmetic surgery and therefore trivialise the seriousness of a decision to undergo cosmetic surgery procedures. We concluded that the ad had not been prepared in a socially responsible manner, and therefore breached the Code.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.3 1.3 Marketing communications must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society. (Social responsibility).
Action
The ad must not appear again. We told Transform Hospital Group t/a Transform to ensure that future ads did not exaggerate the benefits of, or trivialise the decision to have, cosmetic surgery.
