BBB National Programs Archive

San Corporation Participates In ERSP Forum

New York,NY– January 11, 2006 – The Electronic Retailing Self-Regulation Program (ERSP) has announced that  SAN Corporation,  marketers of the  TIGHT ! dietary supplement,  have been asked  to  discontinue  certain  performance,  comparative,  and  exclusivity  claims  as  well  as consumer testimonials for the product.   The marketer’s advertising was reviewed pursuant to an anonymous challenge.

ERSP,  the  electronic  direct-response  industry’s  self-regulatory  forum,  is  administered  by  the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) with policy oversight by the National Advertising Review Council (NARC).

ERSP reviewed core claims that include:

  • “Maintain and even increase lean muscle tissue while burning stubborn fat in the hard to lose areas such as hips, buttocks, and thighs”
  • “A formula…backed by over 800 clinical studies”
  • “Safe, easy to use, and more importantly immediate and noticeable results in just a few days.”
  • “TIGHT!…is  the  fi rst  and  only  product  to  ever  assemble  pharmaceutical grade  ingredients  in  the  most  sophisticated  fat  burner  in  the  world.  The purity level and potency is completely unmatched.”
  • “The most powerful way to burn fat”

ERSP noted that the marketer  submitted a number of articles and  study summaries regarding the efficacy of the individual ingredients contained in the product. However, ERSP concluded that the marketer should discontinue its targeted weight-loss claims in the absence of any reliable evidence indicating that targeted weight loss resulted from use of the product or its ingredients at a dosage level similar to the amount found in the marketed product.

Though encouraged by the marketer’s representation that it is in the process of conducting testing on the  TIGHT!  product,   ERSP  recommended  that  the  marketer  refrain  from  communicating unsupported broad performance claims, pending the outcome of  the testing.

ERSP recommended  that the marketer  discontinue the challenged  comparative  and exclusivity claims in light of the fact that there has been no comparative testing conducted on TIGHT! versus competitive dietary supplements.

ERSP  recommended   that  the  testimonials   used  in  the  advertising  be  discontinued.  ERSP emphasized that any consumer testimonial used by SAN in future advertising must disclose that the weight loss experienced by consumers was achieved with the assistance of diet and exercise.

The   company,   in   its   marketer’s   statement,   said   “S.A.N.   disagrees   with   some   of   the recommendations made by ERSP with respect to its advertising of the TIGHT! product.” However,  the company noted,   “S.A.N. will modify its advertising of the TIGHT! product and take into consideration the recommendations made by ERSP in its final decision.”