Misleading or misinformed? Investigations into irresponsible advertising

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners (JCCP) have taken action against misleading advertisements by training providers in the aesthetics industry.

The first principle in the ASA and JCCP's Advertising Guidance (2019a) is that ‘Marketing communications must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and society.’

Yet, irresponsible advertising is commonplace. The JCCP has witnessed a number of cosmetic training marketing advertisements that have been published in industry publications and online from many (unregistered) training providers who make claims about their courses being accredited or their qualifications being recognised. Many appear to be aimed at attracting fee-paying students from among prospective or existing practitioners, some of whom have either no background in the sector or possess inappropriate or low-level qualifications. The false promise is that the advertiser can qualify them to deliver highly profitable procedures when this could not possibly be achievable within the Cosmetic Practice Standards Authority (CPSA) Standards. The JCCP has also discovered inflated statements of the providers' educational status are used to reinforce this attraction (it is currently popular to add “Uni” to the providers' name), as are exaggerated claims for the authenticity of certificates issued.