Advert for 'Polyfilla' beauty treatment inaccurate

Published on Tuesday 6 January 2009 20:49

AN ADVERT for a beauty treatment dubbed "Polyfilla for the face" that claimed "wrinkles disappear instantly" was in breach of advertising rules.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said claims by the cosmetics giant Este Lauder for its Tri-Aktiline Instant Deep Wrinkle Filler – which costs 25 for 30ml – did not stand up to scrutiny.

The filler, with its no-frills packaging resembling a tube of tile grouting, was designed to appeal to both sexes and sold out within five days of its launch last January.

The first half of the complaint, which the ASA upheld, dealt with the claim that users would start to see wrinkles disappear "instantly".

The regulator examined evidence provided by a clinical trial of 23 women. It found that the wrinkles involved were not even visible to the naked eye, so the firm's claim could not be accurate.

The second half of the complaint, also upheld, examined claims that 68 per cent of subjects immediately reported a visible filling of wrinkles; that after four weeks 83 per cent reported improvement in the appearance of lines; and after eight weeks clinical studies measured a 45 per cent visible reduction in wrinkle depth and length.

The ASA said claims of a cumulative reduction in the appearance of wrinkles required a high level of empirical proof. The watchdog ruled that the advert must not appear again.

Este Lauder said: "We are looking at our advertising and will take the ASA's position into account."