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Hopefully this means that Bieber won't be on tv every 10 minutes during future games
SWISSE Vitamins - which made $170 million last year from pill-popping Aussies - has been told to stop broadcasting TV advertisements featuring Sonia Kruger and Chris Brown.
A federal watchdog has claimed the Melbourne-based vitamin giant could not prove its health claims.
A panel chaired by the Therapeutic Goods Administration has requested Swisse withdraw the ads spruiking several of its vitamin products, saying Swisse could not prove its claims that consumers would "feel better on Swisse".
But Swisse, with a high-profile stable of ambassadors, is fighting the decision.
In the Federal Court in Melbourne on Friday, the company succeeded in getting the decision temporarily removed from the Therapeutic Products Advertising Complaints Resolution Panel website. The case goes back to court on Wednesday.
"Swisse has expressed its strong disagreement at the recent decision of the Complaints Resolutions Panel," a spokesman said.
"Swisse considers that the review process leading to the decision was fundamentally flawed and is contesting the findings vigorously through appropriate channels."
The advertising complaints resolution panel, chaired by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, gave the vitamin company until March 19 to withdraw 11 advertisements and stop using the slogan, "You'll feel better on Swisse", saying the company had no proof to back the claim.
The company uses many high-profile celebrities to spruik its products, including "Bondi Vet" Dr Brown, talkshow host Kruger, cricketer Ricky Ponting and swimmer Geoff Huegill.
The panel investigated Swisse in January, finding many products offered were misleading, had not been verified or aroused unwarranted expectations.
The panel requested Swisse pull any ad that claims products are "clinically proven" or "independently tested", as well as its "Tired? Stressed? You'll feel better on Swisse" tagline.
Until the court ruling on Friday, a 16-page report detailing the rulings was published on the panel's website, revealing the Swisse advertisements breached several sections of the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code and made claims about health benefits that were not substantiated.
These included claims:
WOMEN'S Ultivite plugged by Kruger can offer benefits in relation to tiredness or stress;
MEN'S Ultivite can have any benefit to memory function or heart health;
ULTIBOOST Sleep will result in a good sleep and users will wake up "fresh"; and,
ULTIBOOST Wild Krill Oil provides benefits for joint and heart health in ordinary consumers and is absorbed twice as effectively as other fish oil capsules.
The investigation was launched after the panel received two anonymous complaints about TV advertisements that ran for much of 2011.
Swisse did not provide evidence to support many claims but did present one report to the panel that proved the Women's Ultivite product helped improve symptoms of pre-menstrual syndrome by 50 per cent.
However, the same study indicated that a non-active placebo also improved symptoms by 28 per cent.
Swisse argued in the Federal Court on Friday that the panel did not follow due process when reaching its verdict.
The company said the panel had banned the promotion of products when the product wasn't included in the initial complaints of misleading advertising.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/mor...-1226295925382
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