Avon Cellu-Sculpt 60% Cellulite Reduction Claim Discontinued On NAD Review

Avon has discontinued a claim used in print and broadcast ads for its Cellu-Sculpt Anti-Cellulite Slimming Treatment stating, "Visibly reduce cellulite by up to 60%. Improve firmness by over 60%." The company has decided to omit the statement from advertising following a review by the National Advertising Division of the Council for Better Business Bureaus.

NAD recommended Avon discontinue or modify the claim "based on the possibility of overstatement or the potential for unrealizable consumer expectation." The watchdog group suggested the claim should more clearly reflect the amount of time needed for product application to obtain the 60% improvement and the specific period of time in which a consumer could expect to achieve the results. The review will be included in an upcoming Case Reports.

The ingredients used in Cellu-Sculpt are known to cause skin firming and improve the appearance of the skin, according to Avon, which submitted to NAD the results of a clinical study conducted by an expert grader backing the 60% claim.

The grader assessed cellulite appearance based on "texture, dimpling/orange peel and overall appearance" using a nine-point scale over a period of eight weeks. The average improvement was 60% at the end of eight weeks, with the average improvement for firmness at 59% at two weeks, 50% at four weeks and 95% after eight weeks, the company said.

In the study, the treatment was massaged into the thigh/buttocks region for at least five minutes each time, while the product use directions state the product should be massaged twice daily and do not include an appropriate length of time.

"This discrepancy revealed a possibility that the test results, based on this five-minute application of the product, did not reflect the product's performance under real world conditions," NAD concludes.

Additionally, the results of the clinical study had discrepancies. For example, at the two-week level, the assessment showed a less than 60% visible reduction in cellulite (55.5% for texture, 48.3% for dimpling/orange peel and 42.7% overall), NAD says. Likewise, the eight-week firmness results showed a 94% improvement in the thigh but only a 36% improvement in the buttocks.

NAD initiated the review of Cellu-Sculpt advertising claims as part of its routine monitoring program. The ads in question depict product shots along with close-up pictures of the thighs and buttocks of women, one with a tape measure wrapped around her leg. NAD also reviewed two additional claims, "In just 4 weeks: Take up to one inch off each thigh" and "Formulated to boost microcirculation."

The advertising group recommended Avon modify the "one inch off" claim to better reflect the more typical thigh circumference reduction demonstrated in product testing or to "clearly and conspicuously disclose the atypicality of achieving a one-inch reduction."

A clinical study used by Avon to support the claim was based on visual/tactile changes made by an expert grader and BTC instrumentation data to measure skin firmness, resiliency and flexibility. According to the study results, 15 of 23 panelists showed a reduction in thigh circumference of "up to one inch" in four weeks.

Despite Avon's use of an "up to" statement to qualify the claim, no panelist experienced a one-inch reduction and the majority achieved far less, according to NAD. One panelist experienced a reduction in thigh circumference greater than one inch, one experienced a three-quarter inch reduction, nine a one-half inch reduction and five a one-quarter inch reduction.

"These results illustrate that the typical consumer experience was closer to one-quarter or one-half inch reduction and that a one-inch (or greater than one-inch) improvement, regardless of the 'up to' qualification, is atypical," NAD states.

Avon said it will "carefully consider" NAD's analysis of the "one-inch" claim in future advertising, and noted it was pleased with NAD's decision to uphold the direct-seller's "primary" claim for Cellu-Sculpt, which states the product is "Formulated to boost micro-circulation."

Avon used the term "formulated" in the claim because it is based on literature support for three cosmetic ingredients - ginseng, xymenynic acid and ginkgo biloba. NAD found the literature supported the statement as a strict ingredient claim.

Avon introduced Cellu-Sculpt in April to tap into the growing demand for anti-cellulite products (¹ (Also see "Avon Solutions Cellu-Sculpt Marketed As Slimming Treatment" - HBW Insight, 27 Jan, 2003.), p. 11).