Background
Summary of Council decision:
Two issues were investigated, both of which were Upheld.
Ad description
A paid-for Facebook ad for Cloud Nine, seen in December 2025 stated, “Say Goodbye ADHD, anxiety and racing thoughts” followed by a smiling face emoji. The ad text stated, “This hoodie hides soft stress balls in each sleeve - so your hands stay busy and your brain feels calmer”. It also stated, “15,000+ families use this hoodie for calm”. An accompanying video showed a young woman trying on a pink hooded jumper. She said, “I have ADHD and anxiety. When I am out, I like to fidget but I don’t want to be obvious about it. Cloud Nine have come to save me because they have in built squishies.”
Issue
The complainant, a neurodiversity consultant, has challenged whether:
- the medical claims breached the Code; and
- the ad discouraged essential treatment for a condition for which medical supervision should be sought.
Response
Persons unknown t/a Cloud Nine said they would remove the text "Say Goodbye ADHD, anxiety and racing thoughts".
Assessment
1. Upheld
The CAP Code stated medicinal or medical claims and indications could be made only for a medicinal product that was licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Agency (MHRA), the Veterinary Medicines Regulations (VMD) or under the auspices of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), or for a medical device with the applicable conformity marking.
Text in the ad stated, “Say Goodbye ADHD, anxiety […]” and in the video the presenter stated that “I have ADHD and anxiety. When I am out, I like to fidget but I don’t want to be obvious about it. Cloud Nine have come to save me because they have in built squishies”. The ASA considered the ad implied the product could treat or manage the symptoms of ADHD and anxiety, which were medical claims and therefore was required to meet the requirements for medical devices. We understood that the product was not registered with the MHRA as a medical device.
Because the product was not registered with the MHRA, nor had we seen any evidence that it had the applicable conformity marking, we considered that no medical claims could be made for the product. Therefore, because the ad made medical claims, we concluded it breached the Code.
On that point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 12.1 (Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products).
2. Upheld
The CAP Code stated that marketers must not discourage essential treatment for conditions for which medical conditions should be sought. Advertisers must not offer specific advice on diagnosis of or treatment for such conditions, unless that advice, diagnosis or treatment was conducted under the supervision of a suitably qualified medical professional.
As discussed above, we considered the ad implied that the product could treat or manage the symptoms of ADHD. We considered that ADHD was a condition for which medical supervision should be sought, and therefore advice, diagnosis or treatment should not be offered unless under the supervision of a suitably qualified medical professional.
We considered that, in the absence of such a professional, because the ad implied the product could treat or manage ADHD, it therefore discouraged consumers from seeking essential treatment for a condition for which medical supervision should be sought, and therefore breached the Code.
On that point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 12.2 (Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Persons unknown t/a Cloud Nine not to make medical claims for a product that did not have the applicable conformity marking and was not registered with the MHRA. We also told them not to make claims that discouraged the essential treatment for a condition for which medical supervision should be sought.
