Adverts for the online pharmacy Juniper have been banned after they were found to promote prescription-only weight-loss medication directly to the public and exploit the body image insecurities of new mothers.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled against the Instagram and Facebook ads, noting they also created an undue sense of urgency for individuals considering medicated weight-loss programmes.
The ASA also found that posts within Facebook weight-loss support groups, paid for by Juniper, failed to clearly disclose their sponsored nature.
In one of the Facebook ads, seen in October, a caption stated: “I probably needed a hug, but I decided to start a medicated weightloss [sic] journey with Juniper instead and I really didn’t expect it to bring so much more than progress on the scales. For me it’s about my confidence returning, the energy I thought I’d lost and a reminder that showing up for myself was always worth it.”
A video showed various clips of a woman looking after her baby, walking with a pram, posing for a picture and standing in a locker room holding a protein shake bottle.
The ASA challenged whether the ad suggested new mothers should prioritise weight loss after birth, which exploited their insecurities around body image and was therefore irresponsible, and promoted prescription-only medicines to the public.
Juniper said it disagreed that the ad encouraged new mothers to prioritise weight loss, saying its intended message was that mothers could “seek a balance that felt right for them”.
The ASA found that the ad exploited new mothers’ insecurities and perpetuated pressure for them to conform to body image stereotypes, adding: “For those reasons, we concluded the ad was irresponsible, as it included a harmful gender stereotype and therefore breached the code.”
The ASA investigated two Instagram ads for Juniper featuring Black Friday promotions, seen in November and December, featuring the text: “Run, don’t walk. Save £179 over 6 months… now that’s a Black Friday sale.”
The watchdog told Juniper not to promote prescription-only medicines to the public in future and to ensure future advertising did not create an undue sense of urgency for consumers considering medicated weight-loss programmes.
The ASA also investigated a comment and posts in weight-loss support groups on Facebook, seen in September, that stated: “Juniper’s lower wegovy price is a solid deal tbh 25% cheaper than mounjaro. Weight loss results like mounjaro, worth checking while it lasts”, and “First-time Juniper customer here – ordered Saturday, delivery came today! I can share my code for £85 off if anyone’s interested. I’ll also get £85 off my next order, so it’s a nice bonus for both of us!”
CheqUp Health, which believed the posts and the comment had been paid for by Juniper, challenged whether they were obviously identifiable as such and breached advertising rules because they promoted prescription-only medicines to the public.
The ASA banned the ads.
CheqUp founder Toby Nicol said: “Today’s ruling highlights the need for greater clarity across the weight loss medication market. When non-compliant advertising continues to appear so visibly on fast-moving digital channels, it creates confusion for consumers and gives the impression that some practices may be permissible when they are not.
“While the rules may appear established on paper, the reality is that the current framework is still not providing enough clarity or consistent enough enforcement for a category that has evolved rapidly in recent years.
“That creates an uneven environment where responsible providers can be penalised while others are able to push at the boundaries.”
