Sportswear retailer Zaggora in hot water over false weight loss hotpants claim
Women’s active wear brand Zaggora has been hit by a raft of rulings from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), for advertising various misleading information, including false claims about its ‘weight loss hotpants’.
Three pages on a website, three social network ads, and two sponsored search ads for the retailer were investigated, for issues around pricing and claims for performance in sport when wearing Zaggora’s clothing.
Zaggora said it was “unable” to provide a breakdown of historical information to substantiate the pricing and savings claims, and said that it ran a standard retail clearance policy where stock from the previous season was discounted to be cleared, and seasonal promotions were put in place occasionally for a limited time.
The retailer submitted two studies to the ASA, which Zaggora believed supported the claims the its product could burn calories and fat.
The ASA commented that as Zaggora had been unable to provide a breakdown of historical information to support the "was" price claims, they were therefore misleading.
The watchdog added that the studies supplied by the retailer were neither published or peer-reviewed and that one only had nine participants.
The ASA said the studies contained “several methodological flaws”, which it considered undermined any reported outcomes.
The ads must not appear again in their current form. Zaggora was told to ensure that its pricing and savings claims did not mislead in future, and that it held adequate substantiation for weight or fat loss claims, and for survey claims.