Most Baffling Health Claims Made By Products

Nothing is more important in life science marketing than the truth, no matter what your product is or who it is aimed at.

Part of the reason for this is that many life science products such as medicines and medical devices cannot be marketed to consumers directly, and doctors are only interested in the facts, not the sizzle.

However, whilst some examples are cases of bending the facts a little too far, other companies are far more egregious and snap the truth entirely in their pursuit of sales.

The Many Lies Of Kellogs

The cereal company Kellogs started by claiming their Corn Flakes could cure indigestion, so perhaps it is not surprising that they have been caught bending the truth many times.

Alongside this initial claim and the entire dubious premise of the Special K Nourish line, by far their worst offender was a US marketing campaign for Rice Krispies and Frosted Mini-Wheats, which got them into trouble with the FTC twice.

The first issue was a claim that the latter could boost attentiveness by 20 per cent; not only was this claim unsupported by evidence, but it is also unclear what kind of evidence could support it at all.

A few months later, the FTC took them to task again for claiming that Rice Krispies boost immunity, once again without any evidence.

It was a PR disaster for the venerable company, but not one that seemed to change their behaviour at all, given that they would get in trouble years later for making false claims.

The Shoe-Shape Lies

Two shoe companies tried to claim that their shoes would especially tone bodies and help people lose weight. Both Sketchers Shape-Up and Reebok EasyTone were supposedly shaped in such a way that it would turn a walk into an isometric workout.

It was a complete lie, and both companies paid multi-million dollar settlements.