The manufacturers of Bio-Oil, Union Swiss, lodged a complaint with the ASA against Johnson & Johnson. The complaint related to claims made on packaging and advertising for J&J's recently-launched Pure Tissue Oil.
These complaints asserted that the material:
Union Swiss drew attention to these specific claims (among others) made by J&J, which it contended contravened The Code:
In addition, Union Swiss lodged a complaint against J&J's television commercial, which appears to be endorsed by an entity called 'Medifacts', creating the impression that the product is medicinal and not cosmetic.
In a hearing in mid-May, the ASA upheld these complaints, ruling that several of J&J's claims were unsubstantiated and therefore misleading. It also ruled that many of the claims were medical in nature, creating a false impression that the product was medicinal in nature and not merely cosmetic. J&J was ordered to amend its packaging material accordingly and withdraw all offending advertising, including its television advertisements that have been flighted extensively.
