Communications Authority calls out TVB for exaggerated ad, TVB defends

An ad on TVB was complained about by six members of the public. This led to the Communications Authority (CA) deciding that TVB should be advised to observe more closely the relevant provision.

In a statement, the CA said the ad for “JcoNAT naturally-existing disinfectant" (JcoNAT原生除菌液) ) broadcast on the Jade Channel of TVB in June 2020 at various time slots were complained about by the public. Allegations included that the claim in the ad that the advertised product can "help you K.O. novel coronavirus in only 15 seconds" (僅用 15 秒就幫你 K.O.新型冠狀病毒) was exaggerated and misled viewers into believing that the product could kill or eliminate novel coronavirus with a 100% success rate.

Also, the ad did not indicate the source and date of any assessment or research, as well as it did not provide substantiation for the claim. In addition, the ad was accused of contravening the Undesirable Medical Advertisements Ordinance too. 

When examining the ad, the CA said although the 10-second ad included a QR code underneath the Chinese text of "to find out more" (了解更多), which were shown on the screen for about five seconds, there was no reference to any research survey or test regarding the claim in the ad.

In response to CA's investigation, TVB said the ad had never explicitly or implicitly expressed the message that the advertised product was able to entirely remove the virus, while the sentence of "help you K.O. novel coronavirus” (幫你 K.O. 新型冠狀病毒) was a general remark. Meanwhile, the advertiser JcoNAT said the QR code displayed on-screen which directed viewers to the details of test reports can substantiate the claim.

After considering the reasons provided by TVB and the advertiser, the CA said the term “K.O.” generally refers to the colloquial abbreviation of the phrase “knock out” which has the dictionary meaning of defeating an opponent in a competition. With this meaning, the audiences would likely consider that the claim suggested the efficacy of the advertised product in defeating the novel coronavirus within a specified time.

Although TVB and the advertiser submitted information including a test report on the advertised product, and the CA believed that TVB had exercised reasonable diligence in ascertaining the truthfulness of the claim, but it called out the ad for not indicating the source and date of the assessments or tests for substantiating the claim as required by laws. It added that displaying the QR code could not be considered as fulfilling the requirement.

Lastly, the CA decided that TVB should be advised to observe more closely the relevant provision.

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