Chu Hsiang International Ltd. Co. claimed in a commercial regarding the "Tai Mung Fung Magnetic Energy Feeling Massager Bra" run on cable TV that the product increased actual breast size in violation of the Fair Trade Law
Case:
Chu Hsiang International Ltd. Co. claimed in a commercial regarding the "Tai Mung Fung Magnetic Energy Feeling Massager Bra" run on cable TV that the product increased actual breast size in violation of the Fair Trade Law
Key Words:
full breasts, massager bra, increase size, false, misleading
Reference:
Fair Trade Commission Decision of March 15, 2001 (the 488th Commissioners' Meeting); Disposition (90) Kung Ch'u Tzu No. 48
Industry:
Other Fabric, Clothing, Apparel Products Retailing Industry (5349)
Relevant Law:
Article 21 of the Fair Trade Law
Summary:
1. This case originated with a letter from the Department of Health (DOH) stating as follows: On 21 July 2000, Chu Hsiang International Ltd. Co. ("Chu Hsiang") ran a commercial "Tai Mung Fung Magentic Energy Massager Bra" on Ta Tun Cable TV Channel 8 in Taichung County; the product in the commercial did not constitute medical equipment under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law; the commercial made the false and exaggerated claim "guaranteed to increase actual breast size in one month"; and the claims lacked any basis in medical theory or clinical trial. The DOH thereby requested the Fair Trade Commission (the Commission) to look into the case. 2. The claim, "guaranteed to increase actual overall breast size in one month," and similar claims such as "guaranteed to increase actual breast size in one month" were deemed by the DOH to be false, exaggerated, and lacking any basis in medical theory or clinical trials. In view of the contents of the claims in the commercials, an average person would think the claims were that actual breast size would increase after the product was used for one month. Chu Hsiang explained that an elliptical projectile bag placed in the bra cup lifts up and pushes together the breasts, so that they would not sag, and that this design was based on physics principles. This explanation clearly did not jibe with what an average person would think that the claims meant and thus cannot be accepted as a valid argument. Chu Hsiang furnished patent information describing special design patents obtained for the product. However the Commission found that the information furnished did not prove that actual breast size would increase after the product was used for one month. The patent information was merely a description of a patented creation, and the DOH deemed that such information did not constitute academic information obtained from clinical trials. In sum, based on the overall contents of the commercials, the commercials caused people to think that actual breast size would increase after the product was used for one month. Therefore because Chu Hsiang was unable to provide evidence with theoretical basis for the claims made in the commercials, the Commission found that the commercials constituted false and misleading representations. 3. Disposition and Grounds (1) The Commission deemed the claim "guaranteed to increase overall actual breast size in one month" in Chu Hsiang's commercial "Tai Mung Fung Magentic Energy Massager Bra" a false and misleading representation in violation of Article 21 of the Fair Trade Law. (2) The Commission therefore ordered Chu Hsiang to discontinue its false and misleading representation and to pay an administrative fine of NT$500,000 by the second day of receiving the disposition in this case.Appendix: Chu Hsiang International Ltd. Co.'s Uniform Invoice Number: 23941362 Summarized by Lee, Wan-Chun; Supervised by Day, Bey-Yi