AUSTRALIA | Hismile, an Australian oral and personal care company, has paid AUD 138,600 in penalties after the ACCC issued it with seven infringement notices for alleged false and misleading representations in its social media advertising.
Hismile posted videos on its social media platforms featuring apparently random shoppers in public settings who tried its products and expressed satisfaction with the results.
However, the “random shoppers” in the videos were Hismile employees. The seven infringement notices relate to these videos.
“Misleading social media advertisements can reach millions of consumers and may impact their purchasing decisions. All businesses must ensure they are not making misleading or deceptive claims on social media platforms," said ACCC Commissioner Luke Woodward.
In addition, Hismile uploaded videos to social media about its Glostik Tooth Gloss product, which may have given consumers the impression that it would remove stains from teeth. The ACCC alleged that this was misleading because the product only temporarily concealed stains.
“Hismile has admitted that its conduct in posting these videos to social media was, or was likely, misleading, in breach of the Australian Consumer Law. As a result of these social media videos, consumers may have been misled into buying products that did not have the results promoted by Hismile.”
The ACCC has prioritised consumer and fair-trading issues relating to manipulative or deceptive advertising in the digital economy for several years, and Hismile has provided a court-enforceable undertaking, committing to several actions to address the ACCC’s concerns.
As part of its commitment, Hismile will establish and implement a competition and consumer law compliance program and will publish a notice on its website and social platforms, informing consumers about the ACCC action.
Hismile has also agreed that:
- It will not represent that any of its staff is a random member of the public providing a testimonial, review, or commentary regarding any Hismile product.
- It will not represent that Glostik Tooth Gloss, or any other product, produces permanent results, when this is not the case.
More global news here
