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By The Drum Team, Editorial

December 1, 2010 | 2 min read

A Reebok campaign which extolled the virtues of the sportswear brands EasyTone Curve Trainers has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for "misleading and "unsubstantiated" claims.

ASA officials took exception to an unsubstantiated claim that the footwear would “help tone legs and bum.”

The misleading statement featured in a TV commercial which depicted a bevy of athletic women dancing and jumping around whilst the camera homed in on their bottoms, legs… and trainers.

A voiceover intimated that the actors desireable physical attributes could be correlated with the women’s chosen brand of shoe.

Similar claims were made in a magazine ad which put some statistical weight behind the claims. It stated that with every step taken in Reetone trainers the wearers bum would receive an “up to” 28% greater workout whilst the hamstring and calves would benefit rather less, “up to” 11%.

Reebok state that these claims were substantiated by an independent test study but the ASA ruled that the sample size used was too small to support the ad’s absolute claims.

This isn’t the first time Reebok have put their feet in it, a previous Reetone advert was banned in Glasgow for using the word “bum.”

ASA Reebok

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