Neelofa, Isterix brand sentiments plummet following 'irresponsible' sexualised ad

Malaysian actress and Muslim entrepreneur Noor Neelofa Mohd Noor (Neelofa) and her health and beauty brand Nilofa Group, are seeing brand sentiments plummet following the release of an ad promoting its product called 'Isterix'. 

Isrterix is a drink that claims to "increase desire for sex and repair women's internal problems." Such "problems" include vaginal dryness, vaginal discharge and difficulties in conceiving.

The now-deleted ad aims to showcase the benefits of Isterix such as an increased chest size, increased lubrication in female genitals and an increased desire and attention from husbands. 

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In addition, the ad used tomatoes to represent small chests and watermelons for big chests. It also used both wet and dried apricots to show improvements in lubrication before and after using its product. 

According to media intelligence firm CARMA, following the ad, conversations on social media about Neelofa were 9.9% positive and 66.3% negative. Before the ad, her sentiments were 10.3% positive and 26.5% negative.

Meanwhile, conversations on social media about Nilofa Group after the ad were 1% positive and 62.6% negative while conversations on social media about Isterix after the ad were 0% positive and 57.8% negative.

A+M has reached out to Nilofa Group for more information. 

In response, Public Health Malaysia have taken to X to ask that it stops normalising "cheap" marketing. The organisation said that irresponsible and unethical approaches are often used to attract the attention of the consumers.

It added that one troubling trend is the use of symbolic images of porn in product marketing, especially in products aimed at women. 

Public Health Malaysia also highlighted that another unethical tactic is scare-based marketing to women with false claims such as claiming that a product can prevent health and beauty problems without strong scientific evidence. 

Addressing the ad, Public Health Malaysia said it was shameful product marketing with various obscene images showing various objects to create the visual of female genitals. It added that the ad scared women with false allegations and degraded women. 

The organisation said that Neelofa is an influential celebrity whose Muslim image should be delt with more sensitively and that she should take careful steps in her product marketing strategy. 

While companies need to take responsibility by setting strict marketing guidelines, Public Health Malaysia advised that consumers take a smarter and more critical approach in evaluating product claims displayed in advertisements. 

Following the incident, Nilofa Group released a statement of apology, noting that it would like to humbly apologise to all parties involved for any misunderstandings that may have arisen in relation to its products that have been displayed. 

It added that it will take note of the feedback from the community and promised to be more careful and sensitive in all of its communication efforts and content in the future. 

Earlier in May, Neelofa became the target of a campaign "#BlockOut24" that aimed to block influencers or celebrities who have remained silent amidst the ongoing war between Gaza and Israel. 

Other personalities on the blocklist includes stars such as actresses Michelle Yeoh and Ruhainies, comedian Sheila Rusly and actress and singer Janna Nick.

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