Nad Reviews Advertising For RENAISSANCE HEALTH’S ‘REVATROL’

New York, NY – June 20, 2007 – The National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus has recommended that Renaissance Health Publishing modify the format for print and Website advertising for the dietary supplement Revatrol, a “red wine” extract. NAD has recommended also that the company discontinue certain claims for the product.

NAD, the advertising industry’s self-regulatory forum, examined print and Website advertising for Revatrol as part of NAD’s ongoing monitoring program. NAD has expanded its review of dietary supplements, pursuant to a series of grants from the Council for Responsible Nutrition.

Claims at issue in Website advertising included:

• “Revatrol™. The #1 Red Wine Extract Formula.”
• “It’s a powerful combination of the strongest available whole red wine grape extract with 95% OPC, as well as three other key anti-oxidants”

The print advertisement, entitled “National Health News Report,” appeared also on the Website and featured additional claims, including:

“One little capsule a day that can ease dozens of your worst health worries” and    then lists those health worries, “High Cholesterol,” “Constant Fatigue,” “Heart   Trouble,” “Colds and Flu,” “Memory Loss,” “Poor Circulation,” “Aging Skin,”and “High Blood Pressure.”

NAD noted in its decision that resveratrol, one of the key ingredients in Revatrol, has recently received significant media attention and was the subject of several recent studies. NAD found that the existing research indicates resveratrol is an effective antioxidant, but noted in its decision that the studies submitted by the advertiser were conducted on animals, rather than humans. Further, the animals were given resveratrol at far greater concentrations than Revatrol or any other red wine extract product provides.

Following its review of the evidence, NAD determined that the advertiser can continue to discuss the proven benefits of each of the individual antioxidant ingredients in its product as long as there is no implication that the benefits have been proven for the product itself.

Further, NAD determined that the advertiser can distinguish its product from similar products by pointing out the different ingredients and concentrations that its product offers.

However, NAD determined that the “Natural Health News Report” was misleading in that it appeared as an editorial rather than an advertisement and included several unsupported performance and comparative claims.  Specifically, NAD recommended the advertiser discontinue the claim that suggested the product could “ease dozens of your worst health worries,” and the attendant list. The company has agreed to do so.

NAD noted in its decision that the advertiser voluntarily modified the content of the “Natural Health News Report” during the NAD proceeding. However, NAD found that modified version continued to be presented as editorial material, rather than advertising and recommended the revised “Report” be further modified, or be discontinued.

The company, in its advertiser’s statement, said that while it does not agree with the NAD’s conclusions regarding the format in which the “Natural Health News Report” is presented, it will modify the format to assure “there can be no question as to the nature and source of this publication.  Moreover, the health related claims identified by NAD have been reviewed and will be revised in accordance with the NAD’s decision in a forthcoming revision to the Revatrol advertising.”