ASA bans POM Wonderful ‘Cheat Death’ ad

A poster campaign for juice brand POM Wonderful has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for exaggerating the health benefits of the pomegranate juice brand.

The advertisement showed a bottle of the product with a severed noose around the neck with text stating “Cheat Death. The antioxidant power of pomegranate juice.”

The watchdog says it is concerned the poster could be interpreted that the juice contributed to a longer life.

POM Wonderful says the “Cheat Death” statement and severed noose image did suggest that the juice bestowed immortality but it was such an exaggerated claim and was so obviously untrue it would not be taken seriously.

It adds the phrase and image were used to draw attention to the fact that the juice contained antioxidants.

The ASA says it accepts that POM Wonderful had no intention to mislead but it’s use of the phrase “Cheat Death” in conjunction with the reference to the juice’s “antioxidant power” meant the ad exaggerated the health benefits of the juice.

The watchdog says the ad must not appear again in its current form.

Meanwhile, the ASA has banned a national press campaign for Virgin Media’s broadband service after a compliant from rival British Sky Broadcasting.

The watchdog says the ad’s claim that “10 out of 10 homes with our fibre optic broadband can get 20Mb” could not be proven.