Venus TV, a UK satellite channel aimed at the Asian community, has had its knuckles severely rapped by Ofcom and the Advertising Standards Authority – to the tune of £35,000 – over ads for highly questionable products and services. The channel breached the advertising code five times between April and October 2007 by screening advertisements deemed to be misleading for not providing evidence to support their claims.
Products whose ads breached the code included:
- Golden Bull Kastoori Capsules, a “natural remedy” that may help “if you are worried about yourself and your family’s health, or feeling depressed and weak because you don’t have children“.
- The Jorge Hane Weight Loss Programme, whose ad claimed that taking a capsule half an hour before each meal resulted in weight loss, regardless of what was eaten afterwards (the ASA weren’t so sure).
- Deepak Chopra wannabe Pundit Maharaj, a mumbo-jumbo merchant who does have his supporters (though the ASA isn’t among them).
- Roopamrit, an “ayurvedic face cream” that “combines the ancient secrets for fair and pimple free skin and manufacturers’ expertise to unlock the secret of glowing/radiant fairness and beauty”
According to the ASA:
The appearance of doctors in the Jorge Hane Weight Loss Programme and the Roopamrit infomercial gave viewers the impression of professional medical support and recommendation for the remedies thereby further misleading viewers of the veracity of the claims made about these products.
Ofcom said that a “systemic and repeated failure by the broadcaster to ensure compliance” moved it to impose the fine despite an argument from Venus that a “very substantial financial penalty” may cause it to close down. These ads were cynical attempts to exploit an unsophisticated market. Ofcom should be congratulated.
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There’s a lot more where this one came from:
http://www.theasiannews.co.uk/news/s/1083523_tv_ad_pulled