Ad description
An ad for Amber Patches in a content discovery network, which appeared in a news article on a local news website, was seen in May 2022. The ad included the text, "£17.95 Detox Patches Are A New Natural Way To Lose Weight” and had an image of a pair of feet with patches on each foot and a piece of amber in front of the right foot.
Issue
The ASA challenged whether the claim “Detox Patches Are A New Natural Way To Lose Weight” was misleading and could be substantiated.
Response
UAB BeWell EU explained that they no longer sold the product and the ad was no longer running.
They explained that the patches contained a number of ingredients that had beneficial properties, including one that improved metabolism and enabled the user to lose weight more easily. They provided a preclinical research report which included ingredients found in the product, which they said proved the claims they used in their ad.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA considered that consumers would understand from the ad that the use of the detox patches would bring about weight loss.
The CAP Code (the Code) required marketers to hold documentary evidence to prove claims that consumers were likely to regard as objective and that were capable of objective substantiation. In addition, the Code stated that a weight reduction regime in which the intake of energy was lower than its output was the most common self-treatment for achieving weight reduction. Any claim made for the effectiveness or action of a weight reduction method or product must be backed, if applicable, by rigorous trials on people.
We acknowledged the evidence provided by UAB BeWell EU, which was a literature review of active substances that could be used in transdermal patches. The review mentioned a number of ingredients used in their detox patches, but the only one highlighted as having weight loss properties was loquat leaf which the review described as showing, “anti-obesity … activity”. In addition, we noted that the literature review said that there were no published investigations about loquat leaf in transdermal patches and we had seen no evidence of studies for UAB BeWell EU’s detox patches, showing their ability to bring about weight loss. Therefore, we concluded that the ad was likely to mislead.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 3.1 Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. (Misleading Advertising), 3.7 3.7 Before distributing or submitting a marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that consumers are likely to regard as objective and that are capable of objective substantiation. The ASA may regard claims as misleading in the absence of adequate substantiation. (Substantiation) and 13.1 13.1 A weight-reduction regime in which the intake of energy is lower than its output is the most common self-treatment for achieving weight reduction. Any claim made for the effectiveness or action of a weight-reduction method or product must be backed, if applicable, by rigorous trials on people; testimonials that are not supported by trials do not constitute substantiation. (Weight Control and Slimming).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told UAB BeWell EU not to claim that their detox patches would bring about weight unless they held adequate substantiation for the claim.
