Note: This advice is given by the CAP Executive about non-broadcast advertising. It does not constitute legal advice. It does not bind CAP, CAP advisory panels or the Advertising Standards Authority.
The Medicines Act 1968 governs the advertising and promotion of medicines and the conditions of ill health that they may be offered to treat (Introduction to Medicines Section). Medicines should have a marketing authorisation that has been issued by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) (Rule 12.11) although prescription-only medicines should not be advertised to the public at all (Rule 12.12).
Marketers should not use health professionals or celebrities to endorse medicines (Rule 12.18). Endorsements by health professionals could be viewed by the public and the ASA as giving undue appeal to one product over another or as an exploitation of the credulity of the audience. An endorsement by a celebrity could influence buyers towards a product in an adverse or, potentially, dangerous way and that situation could be unhelpful to health professionals and consumers.
The ASA adjudicated against an ad, for a restorative hair treatment that contained the medicine Minoxidil, that used an image and a testimonial from Shane Warne, a famous cricketer (Advanced Hair Studio, 17 May 2006). Another ad by the same advertiser, that was for another treatment was found to breach the Code because the only component offered by the advertiser that could have could have stopped or reversed Shane Warne’s hair loss was the medicine Minoxidil (Advanced Hair Studio, 30 May 2007). Conversely, in considering another ad for a hair restorative treatment that featured a man, the ASA considered that, although he had a profession considered glamorous by the general population, he was not known to most people. Because most readers would not recognise the man featured, the ASA concluded the ad did not use a celebrity to endorse a medicine (Belgravia Trichological Centre, 22 November 2006).
Marketers should be careful when using health professionals to advertise products, especially if that endorsement is not product-specific. Although health professionals may be associated with cosmetic products, marketers should not imply that health professionals endorse a range of products if some of the products in that range are medicines (Colgate Palmolive(UK) Ltd, 17 January 2007, and GlaxoSmithKline UK Ltd, 14 March 2007). (See ‘Sensitive Teeth’).
In a more blatant example, the ASA upheld complaints that a mailing, for a herbal treatment for prostrate disorders and headlined “From the desk of Dr G Wenteler MSc., DSc., Hed., MPS”, implied that the product had been endorsed by a health professional (Nutri-Health International Ltd, 17 March 2004). Some marketers are tempted to add credibility to their product simply by stating or implying that it was discovered by, developed in conjunction with or endorsed by health professionals. Although many respectable marketers have nutritionists or dermatologists as part of their research and product development team, marketers should be careful not to over-claim and imply endorsement by health professionals or the medical fraternity generally. See ‘Official Endorsements’.
Last modified : 31 January 2012