ASA Adjudication on Best Direct (International) Ltd

Ad

Monitoring staff viewed an infomercial for Skineance Wrinkle Filler, a clear facial gel, on Blueberry TV.

A male voice-over said “Use Skineance on the area of the face you would like to smooth. Just apply a fine line of Skineance Wrinkle Filler on the crease and your lines and wrinkles will disappear in an instant. One application, a light tapping movement and presto, your wrinkles will disappear as if by magic. The wrinkle hiding gel cream is effective on any part of your face. One quick application on your trouble spots and the silicone in Skineance Wrinkle Filler fills your lines and helps give your skin a perfectly smooth appearance in the blink of an eye ... Skineance Wrinkle Filler fills your wrinkles instantly”.

A woman named Corinne Taieb appeared on the screen and said “I have the impression that it’s just erasing my blemishes on my face. As soon as I put on the product it immediately fills in”.

Another woman, Catherine Mouello, appeared and said “I put it on under my eyes where there are small crow’s feet wrinkles. Then I put make-up on top and wow, I look at least 10 years younger”.

The voice-over said “In your thirties, your face inevitably starts to reveal its age. Production of collagen decreases and skin starts losing its firmness, particularly on the most sensitive areas of your skin. Skineance Wrinkle Filler specifically targets those trouble spots; the results, your wrinkles are hidden, your skin becomes smoother and your face looks rejuvenated ... Skineance Wrinkle Filler actually fills wrinkles to help smooth your skin and visibly erase any lines. We’ve given Skineance Wrinkle Filler to a group of women who have tested it on areas which bother them the most. Some targeted their laughter lines, others targeted their lips, while others used it around their eye area and foreheads. Regardless of where they tested it, this amazing gel cream literally made their wrinkles disappear in an instant. These before and afters show a smoother more radiant appearance thanks to Skineance Wrinkle Filler ... Skineance Wrinkle Filler has been rigorously tried and tested before being brought to market. The user group tested it and the results were analysed by researchers who specialised in skin ageing. The results were amazing”. This section was accompanied by an on-screen graphic demonstrating the gel filling in a wrinkle crease and then being smoothed over the top by a finger, making the wrinkle look filled in. This was followed by an image of a spinning DNA double helix.

The voice-over continued “These tests showed that 95% of users immediately observed a lifting and firming effect. 100% observed a significant reduction of wrinkles and 100% also observed improvement in elasticity and uniformity of their skin ...”.

The voice-over said “We’ve magnified the most delicate parts of your face right under the eye 50 times. See how one small application completely fills the crease of the wrinkle and at the same time the face appears lifted thanks to the extracts of [audio indiscernible] found in this fantastic product. The result is smoother skin instantly”. This was accompanied by a visual of a woman’s face. The camera zoomed in on the wrinkles to the side of her eye, and then the image became a digital one. A finger was shown smoothing the gel into the creases and then the wrinkles disappeared. The camera zoomed out to the visual of the woman again and her wrinkles had disappeared.

The ad included several other ‘before’ and ‘after’ images: the ‘before’ images showed women with wrinkles and lines around their mouths, eyes and foreheads; the ‘after’ images showed women with much smoother skin around those areas.

Issue

Monitoring staff challenged whether:

1. the claims "your lines and wrinkles will disappear in an instant", "helps give your skin a perfectly smooth appearance", "your skin becomes smoother and your face looks rejuvenated", "visibly erase any lines" and "the face appears lifted" could be substantiated;

2. the testimonial claim "I look at least 10 years younger" could be substantiated;

3. the claims "These tests showed that 95% of users immediately observed a lifting and firming effect. 100% observed a significant reduction of wrinkles and 100% also observed improvement in elasticity and uniformity of their skin..." could be substantiated;

4. the before and after images were genuine and were an accurate representation of the likely effects of using the product.

BCAP TV Code

Response

1. Best Direct explained that Skineance was a clear gel make-up designed to fill the wrinkle before foundation was applied. They said the infomercial did not claim the product altered the nature of the skin or slowed the progression of, diminished or cured wrinkles. They explained that the use of the phrases visibly, disappear, helps and appears/appearance in the claims "visibly erase any lines", "your wrinkles disappear", "your face appears lifted" and "helps give your skin a perfectly smooth appearance" had been deliberately used to describe exactly what the product did; it filled in wrinkles, giving the skin a smoother appearance. Furthermore, they believed the visuals used in the infomercial clearly showed the product being applied to and filling in the wrinkles on the face, resulting in smoother-looking skin. They were of the opinion that the effect of filling or covering wrinkles did give the appearance of them disappearing and therefore disagreed that their claims misled or exaggerated the capabilities of the product.

2. Best Direct explained that since the claim "I look at least 10 years younger" was part of a testimonial, it represented that persons own opinion of the benefits of the product and was therefore not a claim made by the advertiser for the product.

They provided copies of signed and dated witness statement release forms from the women featured in the infomercial.

3. Best Direct provided a copy of a consumer perception study which they believed substantiated the claims relating to the effects of using the product.

4. Whilst Best Direct originally advised they were seeking evidence relating to the before and after images from the original production company, this evidence was not submitted.

On receipt of the recommendation, Best Direct acknowledged their client was unable to substantiate the claims and had decided not to air the infomercial again.

Assessment

1. Upheld

We noted Best Directs explanation on how Skineance worked and understood it was a non-moisturising clear gel applied directly to line and wrinkle creases, which sat on the surface of the skin but was not absorbed by it. Best Direct neither provided information on the composition of Skineance, nor any controlled scientific studies to support the claims made in the infomercial.

We considered that the claims "your lines and wrinkles will disappear in an instant", "helps give your skin a perfectly smooth appearance", "your skin becomes smoother and your face looks rejuvenated", "visibly erase any lines" and "your face appears lifted" implied Skineance would have an effect resulting in reduced lines and wrinkles and firmer, smoother skin. We understood the product was designed to "fill" or "cover" wrinkles and noted Best Direct had not sent evidence to show it had an effect on the skin itself or its appearance. We considered that the claims had not been substantiated and were misleading.

The infomercial breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1.1 (Misleading advertising) and 5.2.1 (Evidence).

2. Upheld

We noted Best Direct believed the claim "I look at least 10 years younger" represented a persons own opinion of the benefits of the product and was therefore not a claim made by the advertiser. Whilst the signed and dated witness statement confirmed the testimonial was genuine, we reminded Best Direct that testimonials alone did not constitute substantiation and the Code made clear that testimonials should be supported by documentary evidence of efficacy when used in the context of performance claims. In the absence of that evidence, we considered the claim exaggerated the likely effects of using the product and was misleading.

The infomercial breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rule 5.4.9 (Testimonials).

3. Upheld

The consumer perception study submitted by Best Direct summarised the results taken from 20 subjects who completed a questionnaire after one day and seven days of applying the product to their face. We noted that the study included no controls and considered that a single consumer perception study on 20 people was not sufficient to support strong performance claims that Skineance had a lifting or firming effect, significantly reduced wrinkles or improved the elasticity and uniformity of the skin. We alerted Best Direct to the level of evidence we would expect to see in support of the performance claims made in the infomercial.

The infomercial breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1.1 (Misleading advertising) and 5.2.1 (Evidence).

4. Upheld

We considered that all of the before and after images used in the infomercial were visual testimonials and that they gave the impression that using Skineance could result in some dramatic effects. In the absence of evidence to corroborate the authenticity of the before and after images or that Skineance worked as assessed in point one, we concluded that the before and after images were likely to mislead.

The infomercial breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1.1 (Misleading advertising), 5.2.2 (Implications), and 5.4.1 (Visual techniques and special effects).

Action

The infomercial must not be shown again in its present form and the product should not be advertised without adequate substantiation for the on-screen claims made for it.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)