L’Oreal settles FTC charges
The brand has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges regarding advertising for Généfique and Youth Code
L'Oréal USA has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charges of deceptive advertising about its Lancôme Génifique and L'Oréal Paris Youth Code skin care products.
The FTC’s complaint was that L’Oréal had made false and unsubstantiated claims that its Génifique and Youth Code products provided anti-ageing benefits by targeting users’ genes.
Specifically, advertising for Génifique claimed that it was “clinically proven” to “boost genes” activity and stimulate the production of youth proteins that would cause “visibly younger skin in just seven days”, and would provide results to specific percentages of users. Youth Code product suggested a “new era of skin care: gene science” and that consumers could “crack the code to younger acting skin”.
Under the proposed administrative settlement, L’Oréal is prohibited from claiming that any Lancôme brand or L’Oréal Paris brand facial skin care product targets or boosts the activity of genes to make skin look or act younger, or respond five times faster to aggressors like stress, fatigue and ageing, unless the company has competent and reliable scientific evidence substantiating such claims.
L'Oréal USA Chief Communications Officer Kristina Schake said in a statement: “The claims at issue in this agreement have not been used for some time now, as the company constantly refreshes its advertising. The safety, quality and effectiveness of the company's products were never in question.”
