ASA upholds Wowcher complaints
The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled against an advert placed on wowcher.co.uk, published by Associated Newspapers Ltd, which made various claims as to the effectiveness of CryoLipo fat reduction treatment.
Three claims in particular gave rise to complaints, namely that it gave “permanent” results, resulted in “up to 30% fat loss” and was a “non-invasive and totally safe” treatment.
Upholding all three complaints the ASA noted that the study provided by Wowcher ceased to record reductions in the fat layer of subjects six months after treatment – invalidating any claims to permanency.
The watchdog also criticised the robustness of research which saw just 10 people subjected to observation in the study, four of whom failed to complete the six month plan. Leading the ASA to agree that the “30% fat loss” claim was misleading and unsubstantiated.
Finally, whilst accepting that the treatment was non-invasive, the ASA decreed that there was no scientific proof that the process was absolutely safe.
In consequence Wowcher have been banned from repeating the claims in their current form.