Ch' un Heng International Beauty Co., Ltd. violated the Fair Trade Law for publishing false advertisements
Chinese Taipei
Case:
Ch'un Heng International Beauty Co., Ltd. violated the Fair Trade Law for publishing false advertisements
Key Word:
users' testimonies; breast enlargement; false or misleading presentations
Reference:
Fair Trade Commission Decision of May 13, 1999 (the 392nd Commission Meeting); Disposition (88) Kung Ch' u Tzu No. 051
Industry:
Hair-dressing and Beauty Industry (8991)
Relevant Law:
Summary:
A complaint was filed with the Fair Trade Commission (the Commission) against Ch’ un Heng International Beauty Co. for its allegedly false advertisement that guaranteed women a breast enlargement from A cup to D cup. In its response, the company asserted that the advertisement in question was post under the consideration that advertisements by other companies claiming “ a rapid increase in breast size, from 30A to 32B to 34C to 36D” were usually post without providing any user’s testimonies. It further stated that although the company did not commission celebrities to produce the advertisement, Evidence 1 through 4 in the advertisement provided a true presentation of the effect without any false statements and could be verified by relevant materials.
However, after forwarding the supporting evidence presented by Ch’ un Heng International to the Department of Health (DOH) for assessment, the DOH indicated that the evidence presented was insufficient to prove that the change from A cup to D cup of the four users was due actually to the enlargement of their breast sizes. In addition, the measurement of breast frequently varied with age, physiological cycle, breathing, and weight; objective measurements cannot be obtained if standard methods of measurements were not applied and the measurements not performed by an impartial third party. To prove that breast enlargement was attained as the result of attending the beauty class, scientific methods should be used to verify its durableness, low side effects, and the composition of the additional mass. However, the figures presented by Ch’ un Heng International were not obtained through scientific methods and could only prove that the only way to effectively enlarge breast size was through breast enlargement procedures. The BR methods, BP systems, VBR sessions and other nursing courses described in the advertisement were all presentations that could not be supported by scientific and empirical evidence.
According to the assessment by the DOH,
the evidence presented by the company was unable to prove that the
enlargement of breast sizes of the four testifying users from sizes from A
cup to D cup were actually the results of their participating in the
breast-enlarging sessions. Attached materials in this case also indicated
that Ms. Yang was originally wearing B cup underwear while Ms. Li was
wearing C cup; neither were wearing A cup when joining the breast-enlarging
session. This was inconsistent with the advertisement, which claimed an
increase from A cup to D cup. Users’ testimonies in this part was thus
false and misleading.
In addition, the “ Guidelines to the Advertisements of Body Slimming and
Beauty Industry” issued by the DOH on March 22, 1999 clearly stated that
“ content of advertisements lacking scientific support, such as breast
enlargements without the need for surgery or medication, is obviously false
and misleading.” According to DOH’ s professional assessments and its
guidelines, “ enlargement from A cup to D cup” was a statement without
scientific basis. It was thus determined that such advertisements were false
and misleading presentations.
In conclusion, the advertisements with users’ testimonies published by Ch’ un Heng International violated Article 21(1) of the Fair Trade Law (FTL), the provision of which applies mutatis mutandis to paragraph 3 of the same article. Following the decision at the 392nd Commission Meeting and in accordance with Article 41 of the FTL, Ch’ un Heng International was ordered to immediately discontinue the aforementioned false or misleading presentations.
Summarized by Wu, Hung-kuan
Supervised by Chu, Wei-ch’ ing
Appendix:
Ch’ un Heng International Beauty Co., Ltd.'s Uniform Invoice Number: 84258613