ASA bans misrepresentative Herbex ad

[Excalibur]

JOHANNESBURG - Herbex finds itself in a tight situation after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned one of its ads for misrepresenting the weight loss efficacy of its "fat attack" product.

The authority ordered that the advert be pulled following a complaint by consumer activist and medical doctor Harris Steinman.

He claims Herbex's fat attack TV ad is not substantiated by any objective evidence and that the testimony by one of the featured persons does not represent the majority of users of the product.

Link.

 

[xrapidx]

And what happens if Herbex ignore ASA?

All my interactions with them have been pretty pointless.

 

[Lindiswa]

a friend of mine used herbex and she lost weight.. so i guess they do what they say they do.

 

[Grubscrew]

a friend of mine used herbex and she lost weight.. so i guess they do what they say they do.

Weird because Herbex could not provide any evidence of that to the panel.

 

[Suspect99]

a friend of mine used herbex and she lost weight.. so i guess they do what they say they do.

A friend of mine used herbex and pickup up weight. So I guess it doesn't do what they said it does

 

[Lindiswa]

Weird because Herbex could not provide any evidence of that to the panel.

hayi ke nam andazi

 

[Mila]

I thought it was the fat bride one

Oh well. Who cares

 

[Gordon_R]

And what happens if Herbex ignore ASA?

All my interactions with them have been pretty pointless.

The Daily Maverick article provides some good context: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/art...e-unproven-claims-about-weight-loss-products/

In May 2016, the High Court ruled, in a case brought by Herbex, that the ASA had no legal authority over non-members. However, in September 2017, the Supreme Court of Appeals (SCA) overturned major parts of that decision, restoring the functionality of the ASA. The SCA found that ASA does have the authority to make decisions to guide ASA members and to inform the public about non-member’s advertisements no matter “where the advertisement was published or who the advertiser is”.

 

[xrapidx]

That reads that the authority they have over non-members is to inform the public? i.e. non-members can carry on as before.

 

[ForceFate]

A friend of mine used herbex and pickup up weight. So I guess it doesn't do what they said it does

A friend of mine...

 

[Gordon_R]

That reads that the authority they have over non-members is to inform the public? i.e. non-members can carry on as before.

AFAIK all reputable broadcast media are members of the ASA, or agree to their standards.

They can advertise on YouTube, but not anywhere in SA.