Oddity Healthcare Private Limited - BoldCare

Recommendation: Upheld | Medium: General Public

The ASCI had approached the advertiser for its response in addressing the grievances of the complainant and forwarded the details of the complaint, verbatim, to the advertiser with a request to respond to the same. The advertiser was offered an option to seek an Informal Resolution (IR) of the complaint by modifying or withdrawing the claims objected to in the advertisement, or alternately to substantiate the claims with the supporting data. The advertiser was also offered an opportunity for a telecon with the ASCI Secretariat, which they did not avail and replied availing for an option of IR of the complaint. ASCI Secretariat replied that for the complaint to be considered under IR procedure, the advertiser would be required to withdraw the claims objected to from across all media. The advertiser was further provided with the timelines for closing the complaint under IR mechanism. In response, the advertiser requested for an extension to make their submissions. The deadlines stipulated by Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) procedure exist keeping in mind the immediate and widespread impact that advertisements have on the public. Consequently, any action which is needed to be taken with respect to the same is required to be prompt and urgent. It is for this purpose that the deadlines, as stipulated, are set for advertisers/broadcasters etc., and the CCC itself makes it a priority to deal with every complaint before it as expeditiously as possible. As a special gesture, the advertiser was granted an extension of additional three business days to respond. The advertiser in their response stated that, “The Advertiser makes its claim for instant results in respect of its high efficacy over-the-counter products like our Lidocaine 10% (delay) spray, ultra-thin condoms and lubricants. The claim of instant results for its range of condoms and lubricants is based on industry-wide scientific data on the efficacy of these products in providing instant results during sexual intercourse. Even with respect to the delay spray (Lidocaine 10%), the claim by the Advertiser is supported by Clinical Trials published in the journals at the National Library of Medicine (National Centre for Biotechnology Information) which validate the positive and instant results of Lidocaine 10% spray acting within 10-20 minutes. The claim of being “India’s No.1 Sexual Health and Wellness Brand” is based on the following market research study, as well as market sales data, ratings and reviews on the leading e-commerce platforms: Study by InfoLeap which finds BoldCare as an “Expert in Sexual Wellness”. On Flipkart and Amazon, Bold Care is the highest-selling Delay Spray product with almost 50,000 reviews and ratings on our product on Flipkart, and more than 10,000 reviews and ratings on Amazon. The Flipkart Insights Sales Data tracker reflects great consumer impressions and consistent conversions. This claim in the Advertisement is legitimate as it is based on market research data cited above. The Company, as an Advertiser has engaged Mr. Ranveer Singh as a third-party celebrity endorser under an endorsement agreement with Mr. Singh’s agency… ” As claim support data, the advertiser submitted the following documents: (1) Clinical trial done on Lidocaine 5% spray, (2) InfoLeap Market Study, (3) Amazon Extended Listing, (4) Flipkart Extended Listing, and (5) Flipkart Insights Impression data. The CCC viewed the YouTube advertisement (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHQcuVnmi58) considered the complaint and the advertiser’s response along with the claim support data. Claim - “Order our range of high-quality sexual health products on www.boldcare.in and get instant results” – the CCC noted that according to the advertiser, the Bold Care product range which offers instant relief is an extensive list of variations of Extend Delay Spray, Extend Clockstopper, Extend Gold Spray, Extend Gel, Vibe, Ultra Thin Condoms, Multi-Textured Condoms, Nano Thin Condoms, Extra Dots Condoms, etc. The CCC further observed that the advertiser has provided a single blind placebo controlled clinical trial study done for effectiveness and tolerability of lidocaine 5% spray in the treatment of lifelong premature ejaculation patients. The CCC discussed that the advertisement does not advertise a specific product but the entire range of sexual health products. The claim applies for the advertiser’s range of sexual health products in providing instant results for sexual problems. The CCC further discussed that the reference material submitted pertains to the benefits of the ingredients of the Bold Care products in giving quick results. The advertiser did not provide any product efficacy data nor any clinical study conducted on each of the product as a whole that demonstrated that the products give instant results. Based on these observations, the CCC concluded that the claim, “Order our range of high quality sexual health products on www.boldcare.in and get instant results”, was inadequately substantiated. The claim is misleading by exaggeration and is likely to lead to widespread disappointment in the minds of consumers. The said claim in the advertisement contravened Chapter I, Clauses 1.1, 1.4 and 1.5 of the ASCI Code. This complaint was UPHELD. Claim - “India's No.1 Sexual Health and Wellness Brand” – the CCC discussed that the advertiser has submitted Flipkart Insights Impression data in support of the claim. Further they also provided a study conducted by Infoleap in September 2023 to evaluate the scripts on key communication evaluation parameters, understand consumer feedback on the celebrities, their image perception, sexual Wellness Category Product and usage, and script performance. The amazon and flipkart data provided is for promotion of Bold Care Topical Non-Transferable Spray for Men, Extend Delay Spray for Men, the product details, customer reviews and ratings. The CCC further discussed that this data by itself is not sufficient evidence to support the claim, and the CCC did not consider this data as acceptable as it is only consumer scores and feed back, consumer search data / product performance data which does not make the advertiser’s brand as India’s No.1 brand. The CCC then deliberated that there was no verifiable comparative data provided of the advertiser’s Sexual Health and Wellness Brand versus other similar Sexual Health and Wellness Brands in India, to prove that their brand is in leadership position (No.1). Based on these observations, the CCC concluded that the claim, “India's No.1 Sexual Health and Wellness Brand”, was inadequately substantiated. The claim is misleading by exaggeration. The said claim in the advertisement contravened Chapter I, Clauses 1.1 and 1.4 of the ASCI Code. This complaint was UPHELD. For the celebrities (Ranveer Singh and Johnny Sins) shown in the advertisement, the CCC discussed that the advertiser did not provide any evidence to show that the celebrities had done due diligence prior to endorsement of the product to ensure that all descriptions, claims and comparisons made in the advertisement are capable of substantiation. The CCC concluded that the use of the celebrities in the advertisement contravened Clauses (c), (d) of the ASCI Guidelines for Celebrities in Advertising. This complaint was UPHELD.