Ithaca College

A panel of the National Advertising Review Board (NARB), chaired by Associate Professor of IMC Scott Hamula, has referred advertising claims made by Avadim Health, Inc. to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for review and possible enforcement action. The referral comes after the company declined to comply with an NARB recommendation to discontinue unsupported health-related claims for Avadim’s Theraworx Relief Products: Theraworx Relief for Muscle Cramps and Spasm Foam and Theraworx Relief for Joint Discomfort & Inflammation Foam. 

This challenge was originally brought before the National Advertising Division (NAD) by Chattem, Inc., a Sanofi Company, which sells the OTC topical analgesics Icy Hot and Aspercreme.

After concluding its review, the NARB panel recommended that all 26 of the express claims challenged in the underlying proceeding be discontinued.

In addition, the panel concluded that the advertiser failed to support the claim that its products were “clinically proven” to prevent muscle cramps, or that its products prevented muscle cramps.

Regarding professional endorsements, the panel concluded that such endorsements must not only represent the honest opinion of the endorser, but any efficacy claims made by the expert endorser must also qualify as claims that would be proper if made directly by the advertiser. The panel determined that no evidence in the record supports the efficacy and implied superiority claims made in the advertiser’s pharmacist testimonials. Therefore, the panel recommended that the advertiser discontinue its claim that “health care professionals recommend” Theraworx products, discontinue the challenged pharmacist endorsements, and avoid the use of any endorsement making unsupported claims.

Finally, the panel agreed with NAD that the challenged “line” claims, i.e., those that promote both Theraworx products, are unsupported.

In responding that it will not comply with the panel’s recommendations, Avadim stated that it “disputes the findings of NARB that Avadim’s advertising claims for its Theraworx products were not sufficiently substantiated and improperly used testimonials by Healthcare Professionals and, therefore, will not comply with NARB’s flawed analysis.”

Given the advertiser’s decision not to accept the panel’s recommendations, NARB has referred this matter to the attention of the appropriate government agency, in this case the FTC, for possible enforcement action.

About the National Advertising Review Board (NARB): The National Advertising Review Board (NARB) is the appellate body for BBB National Programs’ advertising self-regulatory programs. NARB’s panel members include 87 distinguished volunteer professionals from the national advertising industry, agencies, and public members, such as academics and former members of the public sector. NARB serves as a layer of independent industry peer review that helps engender trust and compliance in NAD, CARU, and DSSRC matters.