Advertising Regulations For Botox Beauty Products

 

ADVERTISING REGULATIONS FOR BOTOX

We have summarised below the advertising regulations for botox when marketing this product and related treatments to your patients. In this summary, ‘Botox-type products’ refers to any Botulinum Toxin product which are prescription only medicines (POMs).

THE ADVERTISING STANDARDS AUTHORITY (ASA)

The ASA is the regulatory organisation for all advertising in the UK. They respond to complaints and monitor adverts including social media and website content. They have the power to administer sanctions against advertisers who fail to work within advertising rules.

COMMITTEES OF ADVERTISING PRACTICE (CAP)

CAP is the self-regulatory organisation through which UK advertising codes of practice are written. Under the CAP code, all adverts and promotions should:

• ‘Be legal, decent, honest and truthful’
• ‘Be prepared with a sense of responsibility towards consumers and society’
• ‘Adhere to the principles of fair competition’

BOTOX-TYPE PRODUCTS SHOULD NOT BE ADVERTISED TO THE PUBLIC

The advertising regulations for Botox should be strictly adhered to. The ASA has recently adopted a set of guidelines when promoting Botulinum Toxin products. Failure to follow this advice could result in harmful sanctions. These products include but may not be limited to:

• Botox
• Vistabel
• Dysport
• Bocouture
• Azzalure

PRESCRIPTION ONLY MEDICINES SHOULD NOT BE ADVERTISED TO THE PUBLIC

The products mentioned above and other Botulinum Toxin products are prescription only medicines (POMs). Prescription only medicines should not be advertised to the public. This includes marketing and advertising in the following media:

• Website content
• Leaflets and brochures
• Posters
• Press adverts
• Sponsored adverts
• Blog articles
• Social media feeds
• Social media adverts
• Hashtags
• Celebrity promotion
• Health professional promotion

HOW TO AVOID ASA SANCTIONS

In order to keep your marketing strategies within ASA rules and avoid damaging sanctions you should adhere to the following guidelines:

WHAT YOU CAN’T DO…

1. You can’t refer or link to Botox-type products on your home page
Do not refer to any prescription only medicine on your home page. This includes small print and pop-up text. In addition to this, your home page should not include direct links to pages that promote prescription only medicines.

2. You can’t use POM brand names or logos
No brand name or logo of a prescription only medicine may be used in advertising. This includes all the brand names listed above.

3. You can’t use before and after images to promote Botox-type products
Before and after photographs make claims about the effectiveness of a treatment, and may not be used in marketing communications.

4. You can’t use indirect phrases or images that imply Botox-type products
Phrases such as ‘anti wrinkle injections’ or ‘wrinkle reduction injections’ should not be used in place of a brand name for promotional purposes. Photos that include syringes or injections should not be used for promotional purposes.

5. You can’t use health professional endorsements to promote Botox-type products
Health professionals are not permitted to endorse any prescription only medicine. This includes all the brand names listed above.

6. You can’t use celebrity endorsements to promote Botox-type products
The use of celebrity or influencer recommendation is not permitted for any prescription only medicine. This includes all the brand names listed above.

7. You can’t use client endorsements to promote Botox-type products
The use of client recommendation is not permitted for any prescription only medicine. This includes all the brand names listed above.

8. You can’t claim that alternative products produce similar results to Botox
Both direct and indirect claims to Botox-type results are medicinal claims and cannot be made as part of a marketing campaign. Indirect claims include images, for example photos of syringes or injections.

9. You can’t use alternative words that imply the use of Botox-type treatments
Words that encourage the reader to think you are referring to Botox may not be used in a promotional way. For example, ‘Belletox’ or ‘Beautox’. This includes words used in your branding and services. For example, for consultation services, you should not use the name, ‘Botconsult’.

10. You can’t make claims in the context of price lists
You may include Botox-type treatments in price lists, but the descriptions of these should not include language that makes claims of effectiveness.

WHAT YOU CAN DO…

1. You can provide balanced and factual information
You can share or publicise any information found on a product’s product information leaflet (PIL).

2. You can advertise non-POM treatments
If you offer a range of treatments that includes both prescription only medicines and non-prescription treatments (e.g. Juverdem and Restylane), the terms ‘cosmetic fillers’ or ‘injected fillers’ are recommended. These must not be linked in any way to Botox-type treatments.

3. You can promote consultations
You can promote consultations for the treatment of lines and wrinkles only.

4. You can include Botox-type products in your price list
If you include services based on Botox-type products in your price list, you must not link these to product claims. We would recommend not using the product name itself. For example, ‘Line & Wrinkle Treatment £300’ would be more acceptable than ‘Botox £300’.

If you stick to the advertising regulations for Botox, you will avoid removal requests of this content on your website or even worse, sanctions imposed on your business.

HOW WILL THIS AFFECT YOUR WEBSITE RANKINGS?

If you are concerned how this will affect your google rankings and traffic to your website, please watch this video on SEO for Facial Aesthetics and find out more information.

WHO AM I?

Alex Nicolaou is a Brand Designer and Advertising Strategist who partners with company directors, dentists, specialists and entrepreneurs to grow their personal and professional brands. Having 20 years experience in dental marketing and a total of 30 years designing and advertising in all industry sectors, Alex knows how to make your brand get noticed and communicate with your ideal target audience.

Alex has always been artistic, creative and passionate about art and design. His natural talent enabled him to develop his career working on blue chip accounts for successful London based advertising and marketing agencies. The skills learned and experienced gained placed him in good stead for running his own business which he has successfully managed and directed for 20 years.

His expertise has helped dental practices and other businesses to win national awards for design, branding and marketing. If you want your business to turn heads, he’s the man.

Read more about Alex Nicolaou here >

DENTAL BRANDING & MARKETING

For more information about advertising botox beauty products call Alex Nicolaou on 01923 609770. At design4dentists we can advise you how to make the most of your marketing opportunities.
www.design4dentists.com >