NAD Recommends Artis Marketing Discontinue Wide Range Of Claims For “SlimForce7” Dietary Supplement

New York, New York – Feb. 16, 2010 – The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus has recommended that Artis Marketing discontinue certain advertising claims for the Slimforce7 dietary supplement.

NAD, the advertising industry’s self-regulatory forum, has expanded its review of advertising for dietary supplements through an initiative with the Council for Responsible Nutrition.

NAD’s review of advertising claims for SlimForce7 followed a previous attempt by NAD to review claims made for the product. NAD was unable to contact the advertiser and referred the matter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Competition Bureau of Canada, for possible law enforcement action.

Subsequently, the advertiser contacted NAD and represented that it would participate in the NAD process. The advertiser informed NAD that it had permanently discontinued the original advertising and modified or discontinued many of the advertising claims at issue.

NAD notified U.S. and Canadian regulatory bodies of the company’s decision and re-opened the case, examining both the original advertising and the revised claims.

NAD reviewed revised claims that included:

• “This formulation is made up of 6 fruits and 1 algae. Each ingredient has a specific property and reacts to a different part of the body. All the ingredients come from ancient natural medicine.  Some are diuretic, others digestive, and others reduce the formation of gas bubbles in the intestine.”
• “The individual ingredients found in Slim Force 7, an all-natural weight loss aid, have been the subject of many studies and research. These 6 fruits and the algae contained in it help to reduce your hunger cravings.”
• “It is a treatment aimed at all those who can’t seem to lose all the weight they want to lose.”    
• “Whether you have 10, 20, 30 or even 40 pounds to lose, with the help of this revolutionary formulation you can be sure of getting back your ideal weight, a balanced weight, the figure that you like and a new outlook on life.”
• “We find that most people do lose weight quickly at the beginning of the treatment, some as much as one to three pounds during the first week.”
• “You too can lose up to 1 pound in the first 8 hours.”

NAD also reviewed testimonials that included the following language:

“It really seemed as if this treatment had been designed especially so that my habits didn’t have to change. I could continue eating great food even while slimming – it was wonderful! Since I didn’t have to follow some bizarre fad diet, I could continue cooking and eating without worrying,” “…I actually lost weight, despite all I ate,” “I literally started to “melt away.” In less than a week I had lost weight without having to change anything about my eating habits, without following any strict diet or doing any exhausting exercises. I was simply less hungry!” and “8 months have passed and I can assure you that I haven’t put even an ounce back on since I finished the treatment. My weight has completely stabilized at 132 pounds which is my ideal weight.”

Following its review, NAD found that while the advertiser made certain necessary and proper changes to its original advertising, the revised advertising and new claims presented similar concerns.  

NAD recommended that the advertiser discontinue the claim that the product’s ingredients “help to reduce your hunger cravings.” since there was no evidence evaluating the effects of the product or its ingredients on hunger.

Further, NAD found there was insufficient evidence to support the claims that the product is a “treatment aimed at all those who can’t seem to lose all the weight they want to lose.”    

NAD recommended that the advertiser discontinue claims that reference the possibility of losing “10, 20, 30 or even 40 pounds,” losing “one to three pounds” in the first week, losing one pound in one hour or returning to an “ideal weight.” NAD further recommended that the advertiser discontinue the testimonial describing a weight loss of 42 pounds.  NAD noted in its decision that the advertiser presented insufficient evidence to “support weight loss amounts of up to 40 pounds, 42 pounds, or that the product can help you get back your ‘ideal weight.’”

NAD also recommended that the advertiser discontinue its testimonials and claims suggesting that the product will result in weight loss regardless of diet and exercise.

Further, NAD found no evidence to support claims that the product or its ingredients continues to work and support weight loss after one is finished taking the product.

Finally, NAD found that the claim regarding the product’s formulation “was simply an iteration of the ingredients in SlimForce7, how they are intended to work, and that the support for their use comes from ancient natural medicine.”

The company, in its advertiser’s statement, said it is “disappointed that NAD failed to recognize the findings in submitted studies and expert reports which it believes supports its … claims. Nevertheless, Artis will take NAD’s concerns into account in future advertising.”