Summary:
The Copy Advice team is often asked if a marketer may describe a cosmetic product as “non-surgical”. In short, this claim might be acceptable if it is being used to distinguish between surgical and non-surgical procedures offered, for example, by a clinic. In this instance, the advertiser has a legitimate reason for using the claim “non-surgical” and is providing factual information about the nature of the treatments offered, especially if the ad refers to a new or unusual treatment that the average reader might not fully understand. CAP is aware of at least one treatment, known as Lipolysis or SmartLipo, which is not, in itself, ‘surgical’. But, to carry out the treatment, which liquefies the adipose tissue, practitioners need to make an incision in the area requiring treatment. Marketers should not, therefore, describe such procedures as “non-surgical” or “non-invasive” (The Norton Clinic Ltd, 5 March 2008).
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