The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned multiple weight loss injection ads for the online pharmacy Juniper Technologies UK (trading as Juniper) for promoting POMs, including Wegovy and Mounjaro, to the public.
According to rulings published yesterday, ads were banned from Facebook and Instagram for implying there was a “time-limited promotion” on weight loss medication as part of a Black Friday sale and “suggesting that new mothers should prioritise weight loss after birth”, among other things.
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The ASA’s first ruling was made against two “paid-for Instagram ads” for Juniper from last November and December that “featured Black Friday promotions” and contained text saying “run, don’t walk. Save £179 over 6 months...now that’s a Black Friday discount”.
The caption for both ads also said, “forget the flash sales and fast fashion; this Black Friday, choose progress that doesn’t wear off”.
The ASA found that as well as breaching standards by “promoting POMs”, the ads “included urgency messaging and therefore placed pressure on consumers” and that “consumers would be encouraged to make a rushed decision for fear of losing out on the offer”.
“Undue urgency”
It acknowledged that “obtaining weight-loss medication with Juniper involved completing an eligibility process including a consultation with a prescriber”.
But it concluded that because the ads “created a sense of undue urgency to respond quickly”, they “had not been prepared in a socially responsible manner”.
Read more: ASA rules against Zava Mumsnet post for promoting POMs
Juniper, however, said that while it acknowledged the ads implied a time-limited promotion”, it did not believe that they “irresponsibly pressured consumers into purchasing a medicated weight-loss programme”.
The online pharmacy said their market insights showed that promotions were “most likely to influence which provider a consumer chose after they had already decided to pursue a medicated weight-loss programme, rather than to pursue one at all”.
And the online pharmacy added that the ads “did not suggest that consumers could automatically purchase a subscription, but rather, invited consumers to see if they were eligible, or to learn more”.
Exploit insecurities
The ASA’s second ruling was made against a “paid-for Facebook ad” that was jointly published by Juniper and an influencer last October with the caption “I probably needed a hug, but I decided to start a medicated weight loss journey with Juniper instead”.
The video ad showed “various clips of a woman looking after her baby, walking with a pram, posing for a picture and standing in a locker room holding a protein shake bottle”, it added.
The ASA noted that the ad was on a public account, arguing it implied that a “new mum had been struggling after having a baby, but had chosen to start a medicated weight-loss programme rather than seek support for how she felt emotionally”.
Read more: ASA weight loss jab ad triple ban for ‘targeting body insecurities’
It said that the ad also encouraged new mothers to “prioritise losing weight using weight-loss medication”, which “exploited their insecurities about body image and perpetuated pressure for them to conform to body image stereotypes”.
Juniper, however, “disagreed” that the ad encouraged new mothers to prioritise weight loss and said the “intended message” was not that weight loss should “take precedence over motherhood”, but that mothers could “seek a balance that felt right for them”.
Read more: ‘Crystal clear’: ASA bans ‘indirect’ weight loss jab advertising
But it acknowledged that new mothers “were vulnerable to content relating to body image” and had “withdrawn the ad as a precaution”.
C+D approached Juniper for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
It comes after the ASA revealed in December that it had banned a number of weight loss ads for targeting body insecurities, post-baby weight, and promoting POMs on socials.
