UK’s Advertising Standards Authority Sides With MHRA Against Vir Health/Numan

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority decided that Vir Health/Numan has breached the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising (BCAP) with its TV ad of Regaine For Men Extra Strength Scalp Solution.

This product, which contains minoxidil, is intended to promote hair regrowth.

The case was brought to this advertising authority’s attention by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), who challenged whether the ad breached the code by suggesting that the effects of Regaine For Men Extra Strength Scalp Solution were guaranteed.

The reason the authority group determined there was a breach in the BCAP is because the money-back guarantee portion of the advertisement was likely to be interpreted as guaranteeing efficacy of the product. The BCAP states that “No advertisement for a medicinal product may claim its effects are guaranteed. That does not prevent the offering of refunds, if the advertisement does not suggest that efficacy is guaranteed.”

The Advertising Standards Authority has decided that the advertisement must never again appear in the form that led to this decision.