Who: The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), WLO Ltd t/a SkinnyJab, Chequp Health Ltd and MedExpress Enterprises Ltd t/a Bark
Where: United Kingdom
When: 17 December 2025
Law stated as at: 15 January 2026
What happened:
The ASA ruled against several advertisements promoting weight-loss medications, finding that they advertised prescription-only medicines (POMs) to the public and that certain ads exploited consumers’ insecurities regarding body image, in breach of the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct and Promotional Marketing (CAP Code).
Advertisements under scrutiny
- SkinnyJab’s social media posts featured its chief executive discussing the services provided by the company and her personal endorsement of Mounjaro, including claims about its effects on her patients stating that “[t]hey are feeling happier, healthier, they’re living their best lives”. One of the ads described a weight-loss medication as a “tool” and linked to SkinnyJab’s website, which stated: “Welcome to Our Weight Loss Service. We provide a comprehensive face to face and online service for patients. Ongoing support and next day delivery service of repeat medication direct to your door”.
- A paid-for social media ad for Chequp, a provider of weight-loss medications and services, included the text, “I don’t want to be skinny. I just don’t want to be the biggest person in the room” alongside an image of a woman looking in a mirror. The ad further stated that individuals would be required to undergo an assessment to check their suitability for Chequp’s weight-loss guided programme.
- A paid-for social media ad for MedExpress promoted weight-loss treatments and included the text “I wish I knew sooner that I could lose post-baby weight with a medicated weight loss treatment from MedExpress” alongside images of a woman viewing herself in a mirror.
The advertisements for both Chequp and MedExpress linked to landing pages on their respective websites that displayed branded injection pens for Mounjaro and Wegovy. Customers were required to confirm that they were over 18 years of age in order to access the websites.
Prohibition on advertising POMs to the public
The CAP Code prohibits the advertising of POMs or prescription-only medical treatments to the public. The ASA found that all of the ads in question breached this rule.
In relation to the ads for SkinnyJab, the ASA considered that consumers would understand “SkinnyJab” to mean an injectable weight-loss treatment. Given that all injectable forms of weight-loss medications are POMs, the ASA concluded that the use of the term “SkinnyJab” itself constituted promotion of such medicines to the public.
Chequp argued that its ad pre-dated CAP’s enforcement notice of 23 September 2025. The company believed that it was unclear prior to the notice whether ads that avoided naming POMs but linked to pages mentioning them would breach the rules. The ASA rejected this defence, stating that the general prohibition existed before the enforcement notice, which merely served to remind advertisers of existing requirements.
The ASA noted that Mounjaro and Wegovy were classified as POMs. Although the ASA acknowledged that neither Chequp nor MedExpress named a POM in their initial adverts, and both used age gates and stated that all treatments required an online consultation, it considered that providing links to landing pages featuring named POMs constituted advertising those POMs.
Social media posts constituted advertisements
SkinnyJab contended that its social media posts were educational content regarding weight-loss medication rather than advertisements. The ASA, however, considered that each post constituted a marketing communication because the content promoted injectable weight-loss medication services available through SkinnyJab’s website. The posts were directly connected to the supply of goods offered by the advertiser, and the brand directly controlled the content of each post.
Ads exploited consumers’ insecurities regarding body image
The ads for Chequp and MedExpress were additionally challenged on the grounds that they were irresponsible because:
- the Chequp ad suggested that having a larger body was undesirable, thereby exploiting consumers’ insecurities regarding body image; and
- the MedExpress ad suggested that new mothers should prioritise weight loss after giving birth, thereby exploiting their insecurities regarding body image.
Chequp stated that it had deliberately featured someone who appeared significantly overweight rather than at a healthy weight, and that the largest text focused on not wanting to be “skinny” in order to promote healthy rather than unrealistic weight goals. The company stated that the ad was intended to portray an individual’s personal thoughts and feelings about their size, showing her alone without others judging her appearance or representing what she “should look like”. The ASA acknowledged this but considered that, in portraying such concerns, the ad suggested that there was a stigma associated with being “the biggest person in the room”, thereby exploiting consumers’ body image insecurities. The ASA noted that a person of the body size and shape shown would not necessarily be unhealthy. By depicting the model looking in a mirror, the ad emphasised physical appearance rather than health.
In relation to the MedExpress ad, the ASA recognised that women may experience heightened body consciousness due to societal pressure, with anxieties regarding their weight likely to be intensified following childbirth. The ASA considered that the ad suggested a sense of lost opportunity and regret about not losing post-partum weight sooner through weight-loss medication. The ASA highlighted that such medications carried safety warnings for people who were breast-feeding. The ASA concluded that the ad exploited new mothers’ insecurities regarding body image.
Why this matters
These rulings reinforce that businesses cannot circumvent restrictions on promoting POMs through indirect marketing techniques. Measures such as age gates or avoiding direct product names provide no protection if ads ultimately link to pages featuring POMs. Companies promoting weight-loss services must ensure their marketing focuses on general wellness and health and avoids messaging that exploits body image concerns or targets vulnerable groups such as new mothers.
