ASA Adjudication on Venus TV Ltd

Ad

A 15-minute, direct response TV ad in Hindi for Roopamrit, a face cream, aired on Venus TV. Bhagyashree, an actress, stated that the product contained herbs and roots “that shall prove to be like nectar in making your complexion fair and glowing. Jaiphal and Sarso detoxifies your skin and gets rid of your acne and pimples. Almonds and walnuts helps in clearing the dead cells off your skin and rejuvenating it, hence reducing wrinkles. Mulethi and Aloe Vera reduces dark circles under your eyes. Kesar and Chandan enhances your skin and make it fair and glowing. If you want to get rid of acne and pimples, dark circles under your eyes, reduce the wrinkles to look young and your age, if you want to get rid of your dark complexion and be fairer then start using Roopamrit.”

A young woman said “I had a lot of dark circles and there were a lot of pimples also, due to it my face started looking dark and ugly. I used a lot of products to get rid of this. But the result that Roopamrit gave me, no other product was that effective, I must tell you. Really, it worked wonders on my skin. I think everybody should use it.”

The ad then showed testimonials from customers who described the ways in which they believed they had become more attractive since using the product. Side-by-side the “Before” and “After” pictures showed customers with noticeably lighter skin after using the product. A woman said “After pregnancy, I had the problem of pigmentation and I was quite tense about it. I was very shy to even go out of my house and my confidence was shattered. There was a guilt feeling like all was lost for me. Then my sister told me about this product, Roopamrit. I ordered it and within just 15 days of use I could clearly see that all the marks vanished and my skin became clear.”

Bhagyashree said “Roopamrit, it’s the nectar of beauty. Made from nature’s invaluable herbs and roots, the only way to fair and glowing skin is Roopamrit. However dark complexioned you are, the moment you start using this you will get fairer and fairer.” Voice-over stated that the product was “a safe and easy way to fair skin, the nectar of beauty.”

A man stated “The herbs and roots present in Roopamrit provide important minerals and vitamins to your skin due to which acne and pimples, dark circles and wrinkles just vanish … Roopamrit gives us a young, tender and a glowing skin, fair colour and a beautiful face.”

A male doctor described the role of melanin in a person’s complexion. He said “if we adopt a solution in order to decrease the melanin production then we can successfully turn a dark complexion into a fair one. And if at all this melanin production can be decreased in a natural way then it is a boon for us. Because in that way, side effects will be ruled out and we can become fair safely and naturally”. A female doctor then gave a number of points of advice for people wanting to improve their complexion.

Bhagyashree said “To attain fairness people adopt so many methods. But due to lack of proper information we adopt cheap fairness creams etc that are made of dangerous chemicals and bleaching agents. By using these, our skin doesn’t get any fair but due to side effects our skin further gets damaged. Even if soap is used in excess, the chemical particles do not clean the pores of the skin, and proves fatal for our skin ... Roopamrit is the most effective way to attain fair complexion. No matter if the skin is oily, dry or normal and because it is ayurvedic there is no chance of any side effect.”

The voice-over said “While you are using Roopamrit, do not use any kind of soap or face wash on your face, for they contain chemicals that can damage your skin from within. Instead of soap, use rose water for your face. Take a few drops of rose water on a piece of cotton and apply it this way and wash after five minutes. Within a few days you shall see the glow on your skin. After you have begun using Roopamrit, for the initial 15 days do apply a sunscreen lotion before stepping out in the sun as this will protect the new glowing skin that you’re getting. And finally you will get the desired fairness you wished for.”

The ad ended with Bhagyashree, who stated “If you want to be fair naturally then this is my suggestion and my experience: start using Roopamrit and it will rejuvenate your skin and make you fairer with no side effects.”

Issue

Monitoring staff challenged whether the product:

1.   lightened dark skin and pregnancy pigmentation;

2.   decreased melanin production;

3.   detoxified skin and was effective against acne and pimples;

4.   got rid of dark circles under the eyes;

5.   rejuvenated skin and eliminated wrinkles;

6.   was the most effective product on the market;  

7.   caused no side effects;

Monitoring staff also challenged:

8.   whether the appearance of the two doctors implied professional advice or recommendation of the product.

9.   the acceptability of airing the ad following an ASA adjudication for the same ad.

BCAP TV Code

Response

Venus TV withdrew the infomercial as soon as it was brought to their attention.   They explained that the person normally in charge of compliance had been unable to carry out the routine advertising checks.  Venus TV acknowledged that someone else should have been carrying out the compliance checks in the meantime.  Venus TV explained that Roopamrit was being advertised on other channels and that they had been assured that some documents would be submitted by the advertiser to substantiate the claims.  Venus TV added that they had requested a clearance certificate for Roopamrit.  They explained that they usually requested a clearance certificate or documentary evidence to substantiate claims.

Assessment

1., 2., 3., 4., 5., 6. & 7. Upheld

The ASA welcomed Venus TVs assurance that the infomercial had been withdrawn.  We reminded Venus TV that the responsibility for advertising content lay with the broadcaster and it was not acceptable to rely on other broadcasters clearances.  We understood from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) that acne was an adverse medical condition and that they would regard a claim to treat it as a medicinal claim.  We understood that Roopamrit did not have a marketing authorisation.

We noted that the only evidence Venus TV submitted was the same study the ASA had evaluated in July.  Then we had considered that the evidence was insufficient to support the claims.  We considered that the claims were misleading.

The infomercial breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1 (Misleading advertising), 5.2.1 (Evidence), 5.2.2 (Implications), 5.4.4 (Testimonials) and 8.2.3 (Products without a marketing authorisation)

8. Upheld

We considered that the appearance of the doctors had given the impression of professional support and recommendation for the product.  We were concerned that this was the second time Venus TV had breached this rule for the same reason.

The infomercial breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rule 8.1.2 (a) (Impressions of professional advice and support).

9. Upheld

We were concerned that Venus TV had so seriously failed in its compliance procedures.  This was despite a reminder from the monitoring team in April to keep up to date with ASA adjudications.  We were concerned that Venus TV seemed to rely on whether the ad had aired on other channels for its acceptability.  

Action

The infomercial must not be shown again in its present form and the product should not be advertised without adequate substantiation for the claims made for it.  We were concerned by Venus TVs poor compliance record and continued breaches.  We referred Venus TV to Ofcom for consideration of a statutory sanction.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)