Health And Happiness (H&H) Trading India Private Limited - Swisse Collagen Glow Powder

Recommendation: Upheld | Medium: Suo Motu - NAMS (TAMS)

The Instagram advertisement is by Health And Happiness (H&H) Trading India Private Limited promoting `Swisse Collagen Glow Powder’ claiming, "Aapko pata hai ki study ke anusaar ye hamare skin ke signs of aging ko toh reduce karta hi hai [viz. image claims: Crow's feet, Dark circles, Dark spots, Laugh lines] saath me hamara ye collagen production bhi kariban 65% badhata hai”, "Just imagine ke iske use se hamare eye wrinkles kariban 50% tak reduce ho jate hai in just two months plus it amps up skin elastic content by 18%”. The said claims are in contravention of Chapter I of the ASCI Code, and ASCI Guidelines on Advertising of Foods & Beverages (F&B). The advertisement contravened Addendum II For Health and Financial Influencers of ASCI Guidelines for Influencer Advertising in Digital Media. The celebrity in the advertisement contravened ASCI Guidelines for Celebrities in Advertising. The ASCI had approached the advertiser for its response in addressing the objections raised in the complaint. The advertiser was offered an option to seek an Informal Resolution (IR) of the complaint by modifying or withdrawing the claims in the advertisement, or alternately to substantiate the claims with supporting data. The advertiser was also offered an opportunity for a telecon with the ASCI Secretariat, which they availed and submitted their response. The advertiser in their response stated that, “…….. all the advertisement mentions that the product is enriched with 1000 mg of Verisol marine collagen the benefits of which have been mentioned in the previously shared research papers. The studies for verisol marine collagen (key ingredient for our product) shared by our team”. As claim support data, the advertiser provided research papers on “Oral Supplementation of Specific Collagen Peptides Has Beneficial Effects on Human Skin Physiology: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study”, and “Oral Intake of Specific Bioactive Collagen Peptides Reduces Skin Wrinkles and Increases Dermal Matrix Synthesis”. The advertiser further informed that they would like to avail IR of the complaint but did not assure withdrawal of the claims across all media. The Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) viewed the Instagram advertisement (https://www.instagram.com/p/C8vhl4UvMj1/) considered the complaint and the advertiser’s response. The CCC observed that the advertiser has not provided product specific details such as copy of product label, product approval license, evidence of ingredients present in the product, and product composition details. The CCC discussed that the advertiser has submitted published literature links which shows the benefits provided by the ingredient - Collagen Peptides. The advertiser is attributing the product's effectiveness in reducing skin aging, eye wrinkles, increase in collagen production, etc, to the presence of the ingredient - `verisol marine collagen’ contained in the product. As a result, the advertiser has made an ingredient based claim for which they have not submitted any proof on effectiveness of `verisol marine collagen’ at the levels at which it is incorporated in the product, to prove the product benefit claimed. The CCC further discussed that the advertiser has not provided any product efficacy data for their formulation specific to the benefits attributable to the claimed ingredients. There is no clinical study which has been conducted on the product as a whole to prove that it reduces skin aging, eye wrinkles, increases collagen production, etc. Based on these observations, the CCC concluded that the claims, "Aapko pata hai ki study ke anusaar ye hamare skin ke signs of aging ko toh reduce karta hi hai [viz. image claims: Crow's feet, Dark circles, Dark spots, Laugh lines] saath me hamara ye collagen production bhi kariban 65% badhata hai”, and "Just imagine ke iske use se hamare eye wrinkles kariban 50% tak reduce ho jate hai in just two months plus it amps up skin elastic content by 18%”, were inadequately substantiated with clinical evidence of product efficcy. The claims are misleading by exaggeration and are likely to lead to widespread disappointment in the minds of consumers. The source for the claims is not indicated in the advertisement. The said claims in the advertisement contravened Chapter I, Clauses 1.1, 1.2, 1.4 and 1.5 of the ASCI Code, and ASCI Guidelines on Advertising of Foods & Beverages (F&B). The visual of 'before' and 'after' use of the product as shown in the advertisement depicting skin transformation from darker skin to fairer skin is misleading, and contravened Chapter I, Clause 1.4 of the ASCI Code. This complaint was UPHELD. The CCC observed that the influencer (Dr. Manisha Pandey) is a health influencer providing advice on health in the advertisement. She has submitted a provisional certificate of Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut, and an attempt cum character certificate of I.T.S. Centre for Dental Studies & Research, as proof that she has passed the BDS examination. The CCC discussed that the influencer has not provided relevant qualifications, such as a medical degree, and proof of registration/certifications. Further, the influencer has not disclosed such qualifications and registration/certification details upfront in the advertisement. In the absence of a disclosure label mentioning the applicable qualifications at the start of the advertisement, the advertisement is misleading by omission and exploits consumers' lack of knowledge. The advertisement contravened Clause 2 (2) of Addendum II For Health and Financial Influencers of ASCI Guidelines for Influencer Advertising in Digital Media. This complaint was UPHELD. For the objection raised against the use of the Celebrity (Athiya Shetty) in the advertisement, the CCC observed that the advertiser has not provided any evidence to show that the celebrity had done due diligence prior to endorsement of the product, to ensure that all descriptions, claims and comparisons made in the advertisements are capable of substantiation. This contravened Clauses (c), (d) of the ASCI Guidelines for Celebrities in Advertising. This complaint was UPHELD.