Social media adverts for weight loss drugs have been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority, which has condemned some of the tactics used by firms as “irresponsible”.
The watchdog ruled that the ads for Chequp, SkinnyJab and MedExpress broke both the law and advertising rules because they were promoting prescription-only medication to the public.
One ad by MedExpress targeted new mothers, and depicted a woman taking a photo of herself in the mirror, with the caption: “I wish I knew sooner that I could lose post-baby weight with a medicated weight loss treatment from MedExpress.”
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the ad “encouraged new mothers to prioritise losing weight by using weight loss medication, exploited their insecurities about body image and perpetuated pressures for them to conform to body image stereotypes”.
The ad was also found to be “irresponsible” as weight loss medications carry warnings for those who are breastfeeding.
MedExpress argued that the ad did not expressively suggest weight loss was a priority for mothers after birth and it had not intended to use gender stereotypes.
The bans come amid a continuing crackdown by the ASA, which is working with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and General Pharmaceutical Council to tackle ads promoting weight loss prescription only medication.
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The watchdog found another ad by Chequp had “irresponsibly exploited people’s insecurities” regarding body image by suggesting there was “a stigma associated with being a certain size”.
The Chequp ad depicted an image of a woman looking at herself in a mirror with text saying: “I don’t want to be skinny. I just don’t want to be the biggest person in the room”.
In response, Chequp said it had intentionally depicted an individual who appeared significantly overweight, arguing that the ad did not give the impression being overweight was undesirable or that people of a healthy weight should try to lose weight.
An ad by SkinnyJab depicting its chief executive speaking about the weight loss medication was also banned.
SkinnyJab said it did not believe the social media content was an ad. However, the ASA ruled it did constitute marketing material.
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ASA regulatory projects manager Jess Tye said: “Both the law and our rules make clear that prescription-only medication (POM) cannot be promoted directly to the public.
“Today’s rulings also send a clear message that it’s not acceptable for ads to play on people’s insecurities around body image,” she said.
“This is a priority area for us and we’ve got further work under way to ensure people are protected from irresponsible and illegal weight loss POM ads.”
