The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint against a video-on-demand advert for online pharmacy Voy, ruling that it promoted prescription-only medicines (POMs) to the public.
The advert, seen in August 2026, showed a white tablet alongside the words ‘Oral weight support’ and ‘It’s kind of a small deal’. Voy said the advert promoted its glucomannan supplement, which was identified in small on-screen text. Clearcast, the company that approved the advert for broadcast, also understood it to be promoting the supplement.
The ASA said the advert’s dramatic presentation, tablet imagery and wording were likely to be understood as referring to newly available oral glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) weight-loss medication. The small-print reference to glucomannan was not sufficient to change that impression.
The regulator also considered the customer journey from the advertised website address. After several steps, users reached a page showing prescription-only weight-loss medicines, including branded injection pens. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency advised that the journey was likely to lead to the use of a POM.
The ASA concluded that the advert breached rule 12.12 of the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising. It must not appear again in the form complained of, and Voy was told not to promote POMs to the public.