A complaint about a Seven Seas print advert for the brand’s supplement Perfect 7 Renewal Advanced, published in October 2018, has been upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
Text featured in the advertisement stated: ‘New Perfect 7 Renewal is … a natural source of ceremides, for more hydrated looking skin, from within’, with further wording positioned over a women’s cheek, stating, ‘Wrinkles appearance reduction, skin firmness, skin moisture, skin smoothness, skin elasticity, skin radiance, skin softness’.
The complainant highlighted the advert’s ‘skin moisture’ and ‘for more hydrated looking skin, from within’ as health claims which should be authorized on the EU Register of nutrition and health claims made on foods. In its ruling, the ASA said it that considered these claims would be understood by consumers as a reference to the benefits of the product in providing hydration to the skin.
In addition, the complainant challenged whether the claims ‘wrinkles appearance reduction’, ‘skin firmness’, ‘skin smoothness’, ‘skin elasticity’, ‘skin radiance’ and ‘skin softness’ were misleading and could be substantiated. “While we acknowledged the inclusion of the words ‘hydrated looking’ which could been seen as a reference to a cosmetic effect on the skin, we considered the claims implied that the product had a specific physiological action on the body which would have a beneficial health effect on a function of the skin, in particular by protecting the skin against dehydration,” the ASA stated.
“We therefore considered that both claims were specific health claims. However, we had not seen evidence that either health claim ‘skin moisture’ or ‘for more hydrated looking skin, from within’ were authorized on the EU Register. In light of that, we concluded that the claims breached the Code.”
The ASA ruled that Seven Seas Ltd should not use the advert in its current state and instructed the company to ensure that future adverts didn’t include specific health claims that weren’t authorized on the EU Register and make sure they held ‘robust evidence to substantiate cosmetic claims’.
Responding to the complaint, brand owner Procter & Gamble says: “P&G always strives to provide the most accurate product information to consumers in line with local advertising regulations. While we believe that we have a strong rationale and justification for every statement we put into market, we note the decision taken by the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) that they believe our claims to be too absolute despite our evidence. As such, we have agreed to modify our statements further to be in line with the ASA decision.”
