Three adverts have been banned with a warning no similar future claims should be made
Advertisements for three supplement brands, which claimed to help treat conditions such as autism and ADHD, have been banned. A paid-for Facebook ad in April for Aspire Nutrition stated: “The secret weapon parents of ASD kids swear by”, while text in the form of a review attributed to “Tara K. Verified Buyer”, read: “This has helped my 5-year-old with Level 2 autism so much.”
“Within the first week his melt downs decreased by 80%. He is communicating so much better … he is starting to show kindness and empathy to his little sister.”
Further text read: “As parents of children with autism, we all share the same dream: to see our children thrive in school.”
Another paid-for Facebook ad in January, for Drop Supplements, stated: “For people with stress, anxiety, brain fog, ADHD … Happy Mind Drops your new secret adaptogen against stress! Prepare yourself to unleash your true potential and banish your mental barriers.”
A third paid-for Facebook ad for Spectrum Awakening stated: “My 5-year-old son Scout is diagnosed with receptive expressive language disorder and sensory disorder. Until I found Spectrum Awakening he could barely put a sentence together with very limited speech and words and lots of jargon.”
It went on: “The first supplement we tried was Power & Focus and within the first three days he started using way more words. Within a week he was speaking sentences. I’m absolutely amazed that I can’t wait to order more.”
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) probed into three advertisements to determine if the claims that each supplement, or substances in them, could help to prevent, treat or cure autism, violated regulations. Aspire Nutrition stated that upon receiving the complaint, they halted ads being sent to UK residents who visited their website and had completely withdrawn the ad for all audiences.
Drop Supplements argued that their ads featuring Happy Mind did not make any direct or implied statements about curing, treating or preventing ailments or diseases. However, the ASA countered that most consumers would interpret the claims in the ad as implied assertions that the product could prevent, treat or cure human disease.
Spectrum Awakening failed to respond to the ASA’s inquiries. The ASA banned all three ads and instructed each company to ensure their future advertising did not claim that food in these instances in the form of a supplement could prevent, treat or cure human disease.
