Beveragette Ventures Participates In ERSP Forum

New York, NY – Jan. 13, 2010 – The Electronic Retailing Self-Regulation Program (ERSP) has determined that Beveragette Ventures LLC., has provided a reasonable basis for certain general performance claims for the GEM Keep It Cool Menopause Relief Drink, but recommended the market modify certain claims. The marketer’s advertising came to ERSP’s attention pursuant to its ongoing monitoring program.

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 examined claims in broadcast and online advertising that included: 

• “GEM Keep it Cool will dramatically reduce your hot flashes, night sweats, and irritability. We guarantee it! – The Women of GEM”
• “Significantly reduce the intensity and frequency of hot flashes and night sweats.”
• “Significantly reduce irritability, mood swings and sleeplessness.”
• “As a matter of fact when I finished and I could feel immediate results”; “And I got this product and I felt immediate results” [Arlene Gibson  audience member]
• “…Japanese women as a general rule don’t suffer from night sweats and hot flashes, the key difference is the amount of soy in their diet. So what we determined was if we used a nature identical soy free compound we could provide many of the benefits of that traditional Japanese diet”
• “Genavida’s gone through a rigorous two year clinical trial. Not only was it shown to be significant in terms of reducing the severity and intensity of hot flashes it actually increased bone mineral health”

Following its review of the evidence in the record, ERSP determined that the marketer provided a reasonable basis for general claims that ingredients in GEM Keep it Cool can help reduce symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes, night sweats, and irritability.

However, ERSP also determined that claims that these ingredients “dramatically” or “significantly” reduce the symptoms of menopause overstate the breadth of the evidence and recommended that in future advertising the marketer present its general performance claims in more limited (e.g., “helps reduce”) context.

ERSP expressed concern with consumer testimonials suggesting that consumers would receive “immediate results” and the product works “right away” and that the test data submitted by the marketer was not consistent with consumers’ expectations of a product that provides “immediate” relief, as claimed in some testimonials. The marketer informed ERSP that it would revise in a way that is consistent with the provisions of the revised FTC Guides.