The advertisement on the Therapie Clinic website was for Laser Hair Removal for Women and stated:
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Buy
|
Price
per session
|
Add
for Only 1 Cent extra!
|
|---|
Lip
|
€29
|
+Chin
|
Bikini Line
|
€65
|
+Underarm
|
Brazilian/Hollywood
|
€79
|
Underarm
|
Buy
|
Price
per session
|
Add
for Only 1 Cent extra!
|
Lower Leg + Bikini (Free)
|
€116
|
+Underarm
|
Full Leg + Bikini (Free)
|
€144
|
+Underarm
|
A text message stated
“Last week of Therapie Clinic’s 1 cent sale! Pain-Free Laser Hair Removal + Top Ups! Offer ends Jan 31st. Call Today 1890 650 750. TxtStopOptOut”
Two complaints were received regarding the advertising campaign.
One complainant said that she considered the advertisement to be misleading as the treatments offered at one cent only applied if a course of six sessions was also booked. The complainant stated that this was not made clear on the website and she was only informed of this when she tried to make a booking.
Another complainant said that she received a text message advertising the campaign. She said when she rang to inquire about the offer she was told that it only applied to the purchase of another qualifying product, as per the terms and conditions. She said the text message gave the impression that the sale was a stand-alone offer and nowhere in the message did it state that terms and conditions applied. She said this type of message was misleading.
The advertisers failed to provide a response to the complaints.
Complaints Upheld.
The Complaints Committee considered the detail of the complaints. The Complaints Committee expressed concern at the advertisers’ failure to respond to the complaints. They reminded them that there is an onus on advertisers to ensure that their advertising is in conformity with the Code.
In the absence of a response from Therapie Clinic, the Committee concluded that the advertisement was in breach of Code sections 2.4(c), 3.10, 4.1, 4.4, 4.9, 4.10 and 4.22.
The Committee also referred to the lack of available substantiation that consumers could avail of regarding one cent sessions without qualification.
ACTION REQUIRED: The advertising should not run again in its current format.
