Advertisment
Advertising for Educogym referred to the following:
Advertisement 1
“Others can claim it. Only we can do it! FACT
Lose a stone in 12 days! For only €189. 12 day programme that will turn the clock back.
Freetext ‘Timemachine’ to 50… for a free return call or call us on 021 …
Advertisement 2
“Lose a stone in 12 days! For €189. FACT
Discover for yourself the incredible 12 day programme that will turn the clock back.
Freetext ‘Timemachine’ to 50… for a free return call or call us on 021 …
Educogym.”
Complaint
The complainant said that he considered the advertising to be:
• Misleading to suggest that a person could lose a stone in 12 days.
• Unsafe to suggest that this amount of weight could be lost in such a short period of time.
• Making promises and raising people’s hopes when weight loss was such an emotive subject.
Response
The advertisers said that they would be responding to the complaint but no response to the issues raised was received.
Further Information:
The advertisers subsequently contacted the Secretariat and stated that they had taken the Secretariat’s comments on board and advised that they would not be using the advertisement in the future.
Conclusion
Complaint Upheld.
The Complaints Committee noted that the advertiser had not provided any response to the complaint and reminded them that there is an onus on advertisers to demonstrate that their advertising is in conformity with the Code.
While the Committee noted that the advertiser had confirmed that they would not be using the claim in future advertising they had not provided a substantive response to the complaint. The Committee noted that Section 9.10 of the Code provides that advertisers should not make general claims that specific amounts of weight can be lost within a stated period. The Committee therefore, found the advertising in breach of Sections 2.7 and 9.10 of the Code.
Action Required: In view of the undertaking by the advertiser to not use the claim in future advertising, no further action was required.
