ASA Adjudication on Phyto Nature Source

Ad

A direct mailing for Subsidad capsules was headed “URGENT REPLY Have you heard of the 7 SUBSIDAD capsules?” and claimed “One capsule per day for 7 days equals 15 pounds less on the scales! SUBSIDAD is the 1st capsule scientifically recognised for activating weight loss WITHOUT A THING TO DO!!!”. It went on to claim “If you only have 15 pounds to lose, you will lose them in 7 days, but be careful: seven days of treatment is not enough to avoid the risk of piling those pounds back on again extremely fast. So, for safety’s sake, order the 14-day Treatment and as soon as your scales show the slightest weight gain, take one capsule of SUBSIDAD before breakfast for 2 or 3 mornings in succession. If you have 30 pounds to lose, you will be able to lose them in 14 days, but for safety’s sake order the 21-day Treatment in order to be able to act swiftly in the event of any weight gain (as explained above) … Up to 35 pounds, order the TOTAL TREATMENT (Total excess weight loss and quasi-permanent Stabilisation) if you want to keep your new figure. If you need to lose more than 45 pounds, we recommend that you seek the advice of your doctor in order to space out your doses of SUBSIDAD. That is, instead of taking one capsule every morning, he will undoubtedly advise you to wait a bit before continuing your Treatment every second and third day. This precaution is essential to avoid fatigue due to excessive or too rapid weight loss. IMPORTANT Above all, change none of your dietary habits during the course of your SUBSIDAD Treatment. You must eat normally throughout the treatment in order for the product to act effectively, in accordance with your individual metabolism and needs”. A leaflet in the mailing showed a before and after picture of a woman and claimed “This lady lost 45 pounds with 7 capsules per week IN 3 WEEKS! Without doing anything else”. It went on to claim “The 7 reasons why the 7 SUBSIDAD capsules will make you lose 15 pounds in 7 days 1. SUBSIDAD [cont]

Issue

1.  One complainant, who said her photograph had been used without permission in the mailing, challenged whether the photograph and testimonial on page five of the mailing were genuine and

2.  two complainants challenged the claims made in the leaflet and the efficacy of the product.

The ASA challenged whether:

3.  the ad offered a treatment for obesity, a serious medical condition that required medical supervision, and

4.  the weight loss claims in the ad were compatible with good medical and nutritional practice.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

1. Phyto Nature Source (PNS) said the pictured woman was called Mrs Israelin van Vaerenbergh and was from Belgium.  They provided a signed statement from Mrs van Vaerenbergh which stated that she was the woman shown on page five of the mailing.  They said the photograph had been provided by their marketing agency.

2., 3. & 4.  

PNS said the active ingredient in Subsidad was orthosiphon.  They sent eight summaries, in French, of the effects of orthosiphon.

PNS said the mailing had not been sent to recipients in the UK since August. They said a Subsidad mailing had been sent to English speakers living in Germany, Austria, Belgium, France and Holland and some of those recipients could have moved back to the UK.  They said they would ensure that no further mailings would be sent to UK residents.

Assessment

1. Upheld

The ASA noted PNS had sent a written statement from Mrs Israelin van Vaerenbergh that she was the person shown on page five of the mailing.  We also noted, however, the complainant said she was the person in the before photograph but the after photograph was not of her and she had not used Subsidad.  The complainant sent us a photograph of herself but the letter from Mrs van Vaerenbergh did not contain a photograph.

We studied the photograph provided by the complainant and the before photograph on page five of the mailing and were satisfied that they both were of the same person.  We were concerned that PNS had used the complainants image without permission and that the mailing implied the complainants personal approval of the product.

We noted the photograph on page five of the mailing accompanied a testimonial that began Carmen is a 34-year-old lady who lives in Barcelona ? and were concerned that this testimonial was fictitious and had been illustrated with photographs that were not genuine.

On this point the mailing breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 6.1 (Honesty), 7.1 (Truthfulness) 13.1 (Protection of Privacy) 14.1 and 14.4 (Testimonials and endorsements).

2., 3. & 4.  Upheld

We considered that claims made for the efficacy or action of a weight reduction product should be backed by rigorous trials on people.  We considered that, because PNS had not provided evidence from trials of that sort, they had not substantiated the claims in the mailing.

We noted the ad claimed "With SUBSIDAD, say goodbye to obesity" and considered that it claimed to treat obesity, a serious medical condition that required medical supervision; we noted PNS had not sent evidence to show that their treatments for obesity were carried out under suitably qualified medical supervision.

We noted the mailing claimed that using Subsidad would lead to weight losses in excess of 15 lbs a week.  We understood that weight loss of greater than 2 lbs per week might be compatible with good medical and nutritional practise for the obese in the early stages of dieting, but considered that was so only if it was conducted under proper supervision.  Because the claimed rate of weight loss was significantly more than 2 lbs per week and we had not seen evidence to show that PNS were suitably qualified to treat obesity, we considered the rate of weight loss excessive and in breach of the Code.

We noted PNS would not send the mailing in the UK again.

On this point the mailing breached CAP Code clauses 2.2 (Responsible advertising), 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness), 50.1 (Health & beauty product and therapies), 51.1, 51.2, 51.4, 51.8, 51.9 and 51.10 (Weight control).

Action

We told PNS to remove all testimonials for which they did not have signed and dated proof from their mailings and to ensure that they used only genuine photographs in future.  We told PNS to remove any weight loss figures which were not compatible with good medical and nutritional practice, any claims to treat obesity or any efficacy claims about Subsidad from future marketing communications.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)