NAD seeks FTC, FDA to review Okappa Slim ads

NEW YORK The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus on Thursday referred advertising for Okappa Slim weight-loss supplement to the Federal Trade Commission and Food and Drug Administration for further review after the company declined to participate in an NAD review of its advertising claims.

As a part of its ongoing monitoring program, and in conjunction with an initiative with the Council for Responsible Nutrition to expand the review of advertising claims for dietary supplements, NAD inquired about certain print and Internet advertisements Direct Marketing Clearinghouse had made.

Claims at issue, including claims that appeared in a large two-page color spread advertisement in Body + Soul Magazine, included: 

• Here’s how I lost 33 lbs. in little more than 1 month without exercise and I ate whatever I wanted!;
• She told me she had lost 33 lbs. in just under a month. She didn’t have to follow a diet and really didn’t have to do anything in particular. 
• All she did was take her plant extract capsules every day for one month. That’s all.;
• All I had to do was to take one capsule a day. That’s all!  No effort, or diet restrictions. And after just 3 days, I had already lost 7 lbs.!; and
• A group of researchers have succeeded, after numerous tests carried out in laboratories and after years of study, to find the perfect combination of plants that reverse the effect of calories.  Instead of transforming calories into fat, this blend makes sure that it’s being burned naturally and transformed into energy, eliminating the calories. The combination of plants is known as the Okappa Slimming treatment and causes the fastest loss of weight ever seen with a 100% natural treatment. In fact, in nearly every case we have seen and in our studies, we have found weight losses of up to 14 lbs. in a week. The average loss of weight has been about 7 lbs. per week.

The advertiser, represented by Direct Marketing, stated that it would not participate in NAD’s inquiry. NAD noted that it was disappointed by the advertiser’s position, particularly in light of the strong health and weight loss claims at issue.