SkinCeuticals UK

Advertising Rules

You (the Publisher) will indemnify, defend and hold harmless L’Oréal (U.K.) Limited and any of its group companies (including their directors, employees, agents or contractors), from and against any claims, costs, damages, losses, liabilities and expenses (including legal fees) relating to any claims, actions, suits or proceedings by third parties against the other party arising out of or related in any way to your use of any trade marks, advertising content, images, text, video, data or other material provided by or on behalf of L’Oréal (U.K.) Limited to you
 
1.  UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (CAP Code)
 
including but not limited to: (i) the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (the “CAP Code”); (ii) guidance and advice from the Committee of Advertising Practice and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice; and (iii) adjudications by the Advertising Standards Authority (the “ASA”) (cumulatively known as the “Advertising Rules”):
 
Rules 2.1, 2.3 and 2.4 of the CAP Code and CAP’s Helpnote on Video Blogs: Scenarios require in particular that marketing communications must be obviously identifiable as such in order to not mislead consumers. The Publisher must disclose his/her relationship with L’Oréal when participating in or in connection with the Affiliate Program, by prominently including mentions such as #ad or #ad feature or #advertorial in all blogs/posts/website posts or statements before a consumer engages with them; and
 
Rule 3.1 of the CAP Code requires that marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
 
2. Competition & Markets Authority 
 
including but not limited to the Report on Online Reviews and Endorsements dated 19 June 2015 which requires that bloggers and online publications should ensure that any content published on their sites for which payment has been received (whether financial or otherwise) is clearly identifiable to readers/viewers as paid-for content.
 
3. Internet Advertising Bureau Guidelines
 
including but not limited to:
 
The Publisher shall disclose that he/she has received payment from L'Oréal in the body of their website/blog/social media posts or statements in connection with the Affiliate Program, in a way which is clear and transparent to the reader.
 
4. Content Standards
 
4.1        All Publisher’s website/blog/social media posts or statements in connection with the Affiliate Program must:
 
4.1.1      Be accurate (where they state facts);
 
4.1.2      Be genuinely held (where they state opinions); and
 
4.1.3      Comply with applicable law in the UK and Ireland and in any other country from which they may be posted.
 
4.2        The Publisher’s website/blog/social media posts or statements in connection with the Affiliate Program must not:
 
4.2.1      Contain any material which is defamatory of any person;
 
4.2.2      Contain any material which is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory;
 
4.2.3      Promote sexually explicit material;
 
4.2.4      Promote violence;
 
4.2.5      Promote discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age;
 
4.2.6      Infringe any copyright, database right or trade mark of any other person;
 
4.2.7      Be likely to deceive any person;
 
4.2.8      Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence;
 
4.2.9      Promote any illegal activity;
 
4.2.10    Be threatening, abuse or invade another’s privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety;
 
4.2.11    Be likely to harass, upset, embarrass, alarm or annoy any other person;
 
4.2.12    Be used to impersonate any person, or to misrepresent the Consultant's identity or affiliation with any person;
 
4.2.13    Give the impression that they emanate from L’Oréal;
 
4.2.14    Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse; and
 
4.2.15    Make any claim about any L’Oréal products or their benefits which have not been objectively substantiated, nor make any exaggerations about any L’Oréal products or their benefits.
 
5. Scientific Standards
 
Section 1:
 
The Publisher’s website/blog/social media posts or statements in connection with the Affiliate Program must not make any claim about any L’Oréal products or their benefits which have not been objectively substantiated, nor make any exaggerations about any L’Oréal products or their benefits.
 
As such, please find below examples of the types of claims that would not be considered acceptable for any sponsored content about any L’Oréal products, including but not limited to the following:
 
Non-cosmetic claims:
 

1. Medical claims:

The product(s) cannot:

• Treat/Heal
• Cure
• Prevent
• Repair
• Regulate
• Correct

 
The product(s) cannot provide:

• An anti-inflammatory action
• Anti-bacterial/Anti-fungal properties
• A deep action in the skin

1. Medical conditions/symptoms:

The product(s) cannot have an action on any medical conditions/symptoms:

• Acne/spots/red spots/white spots
• Eczema/Dermatitis/Psoriasis
• Puffiness (Oedema)
• Redness (Rosacea)
• Dark circles
• Pigmentation
• Scars
• Burns/Sunburn/Cancer
• Burning/Stinging/Swelling
• Hair loss
• Slimming/body contouring

 
 
Non-established cosmetic claims
The product(s) cannot be described as “revolutionary”, “breakthrough”, “ground-breaking” or “game changing”.
 
 
Denigratory claims:
The Publisher’s website/blog/social media posts or statements in connection with the Affiliate Program must not contain any material which is defamatory of any person, object or competitor product.
 
Cumulative claims:
The product benefits cannot improve over extended and persistent use. Therefore the product benefits should be assessed over the course of one day. References can however be made to the time period where the product has been used daily for example “I have used the product this whole week”.  The benefits cannot improve over time - benefits seen on day 1 versus day 7.  For example “after 1 week, my skin/hair looks…”
 
The only acceptable time-related claims are:
- Lasts x hours (8, 12, 24, 48 etc. depending on product performance)
- Lasts all day
 
Recommendations outside the standard usage instructions of the product:
The product cannot be recommended to be applied or used outside of the usage instructions provided on the packaging of the product.
 
 
Section 2:
 
All Publisher’s website/blog/social media posts or statements in connection with the Affiliate Program must be accurate (where they state facts) and be genuinely held (where they state opinions).
 
For commonly accepted concerns that the product can target, the claims must be qualified with words such as “looks/feels” to clearly explain that the benefits are temporary/superficial actions that can be seen and felt. Please find a non-exhaustive list of examples in the table below:
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ingredient claims:
It is not permissible to link a product result to a specific ingredient within the product.  The product results must be due to the formula as a whole.  Please find a non-exhaustive list of examples in the table below:
 

 
 
The only specific ingredients which can be linked to product results are:

• Glycerin can be linked to skin hydration
• Pigments in makeup can be linked to coverage
• Salicylic acid can be linked to exfoliation
• Silica or other mattifying agents can be linked to matte effect/sebum absorption.

 
Superiority/favourite/preferred claims:
All Publisher’s website/blog/social media posts or statements in connection with the Affiliate Program must be genuinely held (where they state opinions). Any best in class claims must be stated as an opinion (genuinely held), for example “the best product I have used” or “In my opinion, this is the best product for x, y, z”.  Specific product results cannot be compared to other products; for example “my hair is cleaner when I use this shampoo than when I use competitor x’s shampoo”.