Who: The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and Vytaliving Ltd (Vytaliving)
Where: United Kingdom
When: 27 March 2024
Law stated as at: 5 April 2024
What happened:
Food supplements company Vytaliving published an advertisement for “Biovit Miracle Cranberry Tablets” (cranberry supplements) in a newspaper on 13 October 2023.
The advertisement was headed “Cranberry Miracle Advanced Bladder Support” and featured several other claims such as “…Powerful drug-free natural remedy“and “HALF PRICE! CRANBERRY TABLETS. RRP £29.99 NOW ONLY £14.99…“. The advertisement also included three testimonials from customers with further claims such as “I have only been taking these ‘miracle’ tablets a short while and can’t tell you the difference they have made to my life“.
The ASA upheld the complaints on the advertisement, which must not appear again in the current form. This was based on the following considerations.
1.Food supplements should not claim to prevent, treat or cure human diseases
The ASA considered that claim “powerful drug-free natural remedy“, within the context of Vytaliving promoting cranberry supplements for those with bladder issues, would be understood by consumers to mean that the product could treat bladder related conditions (that is a human disease). Similarly, the ASA considered that claims in the testimonials such as “I first noticed the difference a few days later when I felt more confident“further implied that the product could treat bladder related conditions.
As a result, the ASA found that the advertisement breached the rules 15.6 and 15.6.2 (food, food supplements and associated health or nutrition claims) of the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (CAP Code). As a reminder, medical claims are not permitted on food products.
2. General health claims can only be made if they are accompanied by a specific authorised health claim
The ASA considered that the advertisement referred to general claims such as “advanced bladder support” and “promote a healthy urinary tract” which would be understood by consumers as general, non-specific benefits of the cranberry supplements for the general physical health of the bladder and urinary tract. However, general claims such as these would need to be accompanied by a relevant specific health claim that was authorised on the Great Britain nutrition and health claims (NHC) register. The advertisement did not include any such specific health claims.
As a result, the ASA found that the advertisement breached rule 15.2 (Food, food supplements and associated health or nutrition claims) of the CAP Code.
3. Price comparisons should not be misleading
The ASA considered that the claim “50% off” and “HALF PRICE! CRANBERRY TABLETS. RRP £29.99 NOW ONLY £14.99” would be understood by consumers to mean that the price that the cranberry supplements was generally sold at was £29.99, and that consumers could benefit from this promotion by paying a lower price of £14.99 instead. Vytaliving acknowledged that the cranberry supplements had only ever been sold for £14.99 (and not the £29.99 RRP) but argued that the half price saving was genuine when applied to a multi-buy package which equated to £7.13 per pack.
The ASA held that the offer was presented on the basis of one unit of cranberry supplements being purchased and therefore the saving through a multi-buy package was not relevant here. As a result, the ASA held that the price claim could not be substantiated and was misleading. The advertisement therefore breached rules 3.1 (misleadingness), 3.7 (substantiation), 3.17 (prices) and 3.40 (price comparisons) of the CAP Code.
Why this matters:
This ASA ruling provides a further reminder that nutritional and health claims are strictly regulated and the ASA is actively enforcing in this area. Additionally, manufacturers should ensure that they are not making claims in their advertising that their food or food supplement can prevent, treat or cure human diseases.
More generally, the ASA ruling also provides a reminder that testimonials are considered to be a form of advertising, because the manufacturer takes a specific review and inserts this into their advertising as a testimonial. This means that claims that are made in testimonials are treated as if they are the manufacturer’s advertising claims. Manufacturers should therefore take care to ensure that testimonials do not include any claims (particularly health claims) which the manufacturer could not itself make.
Finally, any price comparison claims should be carefully drafted to reflect accurate and genuine savings.
