ERSP Decision: Alteril Sleep Aid Supplement

 MAXIMIZER HEALTH PRODUCTS

Alteril Sleep Aid Supplement

BASIS OF INQUIRY

Direct response advertising for the Alteril Sleep Aid Supplement, an all-natural, non-prescription sleep aid supplement, came to the attention of the Electronic Retailing Self-Regulation Program (“ERSP”) pursuant to its ongoing monitoring program. A two-minute short form advertisement and accompanying website advertising described the benefits of using the all natural sleep aid in comparison to prescribed sleep medication.

Based on its review of the advertising for the Alteril Sleep Aid Supplement, ERSP identified the following five core claims (including the respective, representative samples indicated below) that were communicated in the advertising regarding the general efficacy of the product: a) establishment claims (i.e., “Six controlled clinical studies in Europe show that the key ingredient in Alteril is particularly effective for shortening the time to fall asleep; Prolonging deep sleep; Increasing deep sleep stages; Increased dreaming; Reducing nighttime (or middle of the night) awakenings; Improving the quality of sleep in both normal sleepers and insomniacs”);  performance claims (i.e.,  “Does not produce morning "hangovers"”; “Does not reduce concentration”; “Does not impair physical performance”); superiority claims (i.e., “It is the number one non-prescription sleep aid formula in Europe.”); comparative claims (i.e., “And it's non habit forming and doesn't carry the side-effects of prescription sleep aids.”) and safety claims (i.e., “Completely safe, non side effect, non habit forming formula for years for good sound sleep.”).

MARKETERS POSITION

During the pendancy of the review, Maximizer Health Products, informed ERSP that the Alteril advertising was only conducted as a brief test marketing program to determine whether there is sufficient consumer demand to warrant further marketing and production, and that the test marketing is now concluded.  At the present time, the marketer represented that Alteril is not being marketed or sold and there are no existing plans to market or sell it in the future.

In the spirit of the voluntary self-regulatory program, the marketer noted that in the event it decides to market and sell Alteril in the future, it would provide ERSP with the information requested regarding substantiation for the claims made in that test market advertisement.  In closing, Maximizer products informed ERSP that it believes that each of the representations made in the advertisements are fully supportable. 

ADMINISTRATIVELY CLOSED DETERMINATION

Section 2.2 C (c)(ii)(d) of the ERSP Policy and Procedures provides that “if …

during the course of an advertising review proceeding, ERSP determines that the

advertising claims that are the subject of the inquiry have been permanently

withdrawn from use prior to the date of the inquiry and ERSP receives the

marketer’s assurance, in writing, that the claim(s) at issue will not be used by the

marketer in any future electronic national direct response advertising for the

product or service, [ERSP] shall administratively close the case file.”

Pursuant to the marketer’s representation that it has voluntarily withdrawn the core claims from the direct response infomercial at issue and has no intentions of broadcasting the same claims in the context of this advertising again, ERSP concluded that it was appropriate and the best use of the program resources to administratively close the matter pursuant to the aforementioned section of the ERSP Policy and Procedures. ERSP appreciates the marketer’s good faith intentions expressed during this inquiry.

Copyright 2006. Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc.