Health & Beauty

The advertisement promoted an upgrade to a laser hair removal package at a discounted price. The headline stated:
‘From just €29.95 get Full Body Laser Hair Removal’,
while the main promotional message stated,
‘UPGRADE FULL BODY LASER HAIR REMOVAL FROM ONLY €29.95.’

The advertisement informed recipients that they were, ‘eligible for pricing that goes even deeper than our Black Friday Sale’ and encouraged them to ‘Upgrade to full body laser hair removal from only €29.95.’ It also stated, ‘You started the journey already, now enjoy hair-free confidence everywhere!’

The terms and conditions stated that add-on courses could only be purchased by customers who already had a specified laser hair removal course and that treatments from the existing course and the add-on ‘must be carried out on the same day going forward’.

The complainant stated that the advertisement promoted a VIP client offer for Full Body Laser Hair Removal at a price of €29.95 per session, which they understood to apply to full body treatments. The complainant stated that, following purchase, they were informed that the offer only covered the upper half of the body and was available to customers who had already purchased laser hair removal treatments for the legs, bikini area and underarms.

The complainant stated that the language used in the headline and body of the advertisement, and the linked information suggested that the offer was for full body laser hair removal at approximately €30 per session. They considered that, if the offer only covered part of the body, this should have been made clear in the advertisement. The complainant further stated that describing the offer as a ‘full body’ add-on implied that the treatment covered the whole body.

The advertisers stated that the advertisement related to a Black Friday promotional email sent exclusively to existing clients and that the offer was presented as a ‘VIP client upgrade’ for customers who had already commenced a course of laser hair removal treatments. They stated that the advertised price of €29.95 for ‘full body’ laser hair removal was not intended to represent a standalone full body treatment, but rather an upgrade for customers who had already purchased treatments for certain areas and wished to add further areas.

The advertisers stated that the eligibility requirements and treatment conditions were included in the terms and conditions of the email and on the landing page. They acknowledged that the use of the term ‘full body’ may have implied a complete standalone service and accepted that the headline claim ‘Full Body Laser Hair Removal €29.95’ did not sufficiently clarify that the offer was upgrade-based rather than a standalone treatment. They also accepted that the key conditions were not as prominent as they could have been and that the distinction between an ‘upgrade’ and an ‘add-on’ could have been explained more clearly.

The advertisers stated that it had not been their intention to mislead consumers but acknowledged that the presentation of the offer may have created ambiguity. They further stated that they had reviewed their promotional messaging and implemented measures to ensure that references to ‘full body’ were more clearly qualified, that eligibility conditions were made more prominent, and that terminology was used more consistently in future advertising

Complaint Upheld

The Independent Complaints Council considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response.

The Council noted that the advertisement promoted “Full Body Laser Hair Removal” from €29.95, had included the statements “upgrade” and “you started the journey already” and had stated that it was a ‘Client Exclusive Upgrade”. The Council noted the requirement of the Code that the presentation of sales promotions and the associated publicity should not mislead consumers (S. 5.5); that a marketing communication should not mislead, or be likely to mislead, by inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration, omission or otherwise (S. 4.1) and that advertisers should not exploit the credulity, inexperience or lack of knowledge of consumers (S. 4.4).

The Council considered that the headline claim of “Full Body Laser Hair Removal from only €29.95” gave the impression that it was available as a standalone service, rather than available as an add-on for existing customers who had already purchased specified laser hair removal treatments. While relevant conditions appeared in the terms and conditions, they were not presented with sufficient prominence, and the use of the term “full body” was likely to create an impression that consumers could obtain full body laser hair removal at the advertised price.

In the circumstances, the Council considered that the advertisement was likely to mislead and that the promotion was not presented clearly regarding its limitations and eligibility requirements. Accordingly, the Council considered that the advertisement breached Sections, 4.1, 4.4, 4.22, and 5.5 of the Code.

Action Required: The advertisement must not reappear in its current form.