Weight-loss tea ‘joke’ almost brews trouble for influencer
An influencer who claimed on Facebook her herbal teas reduce flab and remove tattoos has managed to dodge a telling-off thanks to a slight edit to her post saying it was only an April Fool’s joke.
Influencer Sera Lilly found herself in hot water over a Facebook post in April promoting a brand of “incredible weight loss tea”.
The social media post showed what’s been described by the Advertising Standards Authority as an image of a “pale overweight woman in a red one-piece swimsuit next to an image of a slim woman in a red bikini”.
The caption stated: “Love getting before & after pics like these !!!! ” and explained that the results were achieved in only seven days.”
It also claimed the tea “has the ability to put skin elasticity back and remove all cellulite and stubborn unwanted tattoos!!”.
At least one of Lilly’s followers went on to buy the tea in the hope of losing weight. That person has complained to the Advertising Standards Authority, saying they felt duped — by the initial post and a subsequent post saying it was an April Fool’s joke.
“The transformation was pretty extreme and it influenced me — someone trying to lose weight — to purchase the product,” they said.
A second complaint said the post “pushed false claims” about the weight loss tea, and directed people wanting to buy it to a website.
“Today I learned that it was an April Fools post, however she was still selling her own weight loss product with misleading / false claims and it was clearly labelled #AD.
“I bought the product as I’m trying to lose weight and I feel ripped off today, with others who have commented on the post feeling a little upset or disappointed.”
Lilly’s response “Since when did April Fools only last till midday?” further left the follower feeling “very unhappy and feeling stupid”.
The authority’s complaints board said in its decision that as part of the self-regulatory process, advertisers and media had the option of amending or removing advertising to comply with the advertising codes.
Lilly’s amendment to the advertisement, to include the wording, “Edit: it’s clearly an April fool’s Joke!! Hahaha”, made it clear the post was an April Fool’s joke, the decision said.
The chair said it would serve no further purpose to place the matter before the complaints board.”
The board considered the matter settled.