AUTH/2930/1/17: Johnson & Johnson – Nicorette “Do something incredible” rolling banner ad ruled misleading/exaggerated | PMCPA Case

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Key facts

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Case	AUTH/2930/1/17
Company	Johnson & Johnson Limited
Product	Nicorette (nicotine)
Material	Online rolling banner advertisement in Pulse (ref UK/NI/16-7663)
Main claim at issue	“Nicorette. Do something incredible”
Secondary claim context	“Combination NRT is 43% more effective than patch alone” alongside Nicorette packs and “Nothing beats Nicorette dual support”
Complainant	Health professional (private capacity) who stated they worked as a consultant to a pharmaceutical company (Novartis named in report per procedure)
Complaint received	16 January 2017
Case completed	18 May 2017
Applicable Code year	2016
Breach clauses	Clauses 7.2 and 7.10
Appeal	No appeal
Sanction	Undertaking received (additional sanctions: Not stated)

Reviewed by Dr Anzal Qurbain (FFPM) — ABPI Final Signatory

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A health professional (acting in a private capacity) complained about an online Pulse “rolling banner” advertisement for Nicorette (nicotine) by Johnson & Johnson (ref UK/NI/16-7663).
The banner included the tagline: “Nicorette. Do something incredible”.
The ad rotated through four banners over ~10 seconds; the tagline appeared adjacent to the Nicorette logo on the 1st, 2nd and 4th banners.
One banner stated “Combination NRT is 43% more effective than patch alone” alongside Nicorette packs and the claim “Nothing beats Nicorette dual support”.
The complainant alleged “incredible” was unsuitable, unbalanced and exaggerated, and appeared taken from consumer-facing material without sufficiently robust review for HCP promotion.
Johnson & Johnson argued the tagline was a “call to action” about the quit journey (and/or HCP support), not a product claim, and that the rolling banners should be considered as one piece.

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The Panel ruled the implication of “Do something incredible” (as presented next to the Nicorette logo) was that Nicorette had “incredible” features and/or that prescribing it was “incredible”.
The Panel found this implication misleading and exaggerated.
Breach of the Code was ruled under Clauses 7.2 and 7.10.
No appeal.

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