Truvani Voluntarily Discontinues Social Media Post and Two Consumer Reviews for Immune Support Following NAD Inquiry into Implied COVID-19 Messages
For Immediate Release
Contact: Abby Hills, Director of Communications, BBB National Programs
703.247.9330 / press@bbbnp.org
New York, NY – August 4, 2020 – Following an inquiry by the National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs, Nomolotus, LLC d/b/a Truvani discontinued a social media post for its Immune Support dietary supplement (formerly called “Under the Weather”), as well as two customer reviews referring to COVID-19.
Through its routine monitoring program, NAD challenged Truvani’s social media post, including an image, with the text:
- “Support Your Immune Health Now . . . Or Kick Yourself Later,” and
Associated text stating “Right now everyone is thinking about their immune health,” before describing a discount for several of its products.
NAD also challenged two customer reviews on the product’s webpage, which stated:
- Michael K. (Verified Buyer): “Very happy with the product, I feel BC so well protected from COVID-19 with your supplements . . . .”
- Theresa O. (Verified Buyer): “I really think I had undiagnosed corona virus. Nothing helped. Until I started taking under the weather. A few days later I started improving. I haven’t [sic] stopped taking it since.”
NAD inquired as to whether the challenged social media post conveyed messages regarding the product’s ability to protect against COVID-19. Further, NAD questioned whether the reviews were presented as testimonials that conveyed the same message and requested substantiation for the statements.
NAD noted that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have issued several warning letters to dietary supplement manufacturers in response to advertising touting their products’ abilities to cure or increase consumers’ immunity to protect them from novel coronavirus or COVID-19. NAD shares the FTC and FDA’s concerns and is using its monitoring resources to ensure that claims for dietary supplements and other products do not overstate their claims as they may relate to novel coronavirus or COVID-19. In other cases, NAD has noted that companies selling products with claims about immunity support must take care not to overstate those claims in a way that conveys the message to consumers that its products can provide benefits related to fighting COVID-19.
In response to NAD’s inquiry, Truvani stated that neither its advertising nor its customer reviews convey any messages regarding COVID-19. Nonetheless, it permanently discontinued the social media post and the customer reviews at issue and added filters to its review widget to prevent any similar language in the future. NAD appreciated the advertiser’s discontinuance of the statements at issue.
In its advertiser’s statement, Truvani stated that it “will continue to ensure that it presents its customer reviews in a fair and accurate manner.” Truvani further stated that it “does not believe that its social media post somehow implied the Immune Support product protects against COVID-19, as the post included no reference to, or context suggestive of, COVID-19 and highlighted several products, not just Immune Support. Nevertheless, Truvani supports the self-regulatory process and voluntarily removed the post.”
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About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs is where businesses turn to enhance consumer trust and consumers are heard. The non-profit organization creates a fairer playing field for businesses and a better experience for consumers through the development and delivery of effective third-party accountability and dispute resolution programs. Embracing its role as an independent organization since the restructuring of the Council of Better Business Bureaus in June 2019, BBB National Programs today oversees more than a dozen leading national industry self-regulation programs, and continues to evolve its work and grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best practices in arenas such as advertising, child-directed marketing, and privacy. To learn more, visit bbbprograms.org.
About the National Advertising Division: The National Advertising Division (NAD), a division of BBB National Programs, provides independent self-regulation and dispute resolution services, guiding the truthfulness of advertising across the U.S. NAD reviews national advertising in all media and its decisions set consistent standards for advertising truth and accuracy, delivering meaningful protection to consumers and leveling the playing field for business.
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