An enormous hand offering a solution in the form of a tiny pill; pure and white as it stands against a hazy sunrise glow, the aura of religious revelation on the side of a bus: “The Weight is Over.”
Given that its name is derived from the word ‘voyage,’ perhaps Voy’s branding over buses should not be a surprise. However, over the past few months these adverts and others like them have caused controversy for their promotion of weight-loss drugs.
Weight-loss injections, such as Ozempic, have exploded in popularity over the last few years. The latest weight loss phenomenon is the pill; considered easy and less invasive, the pill is in many ways more sinister than an injection. Their perceived simplicity removes one of the factors that causes people to take proper consideration before committing themselves to this medication. By removing these mental barriers, weight-loss drugs become increasingly appealing to members of the public driven by personal insecurities rather than damaging health issues.
When I looked up ‘weight-loss drugs’ on google, the first four results were ‘sponsored results’: companies advertising their ability to bypass a GP referral (Voy), their affordability (MedExpress and Boots), and their discreet, next day delivery (My Juniper). This quick search highlights that price, inconvenience, delay, and conspicuousness are all factors that prevent people from committing to these prescriptions.
Although it is illegal to promote prescription medication, these private healthcare services abuse a loophole: technically, they advertise consultations for weight-loss drugs, not the drugs themselves.
At the beginning of the year, Voy faced another public scandal due to their controversial advert for a £20 at-home testosterone test. On the walls of the London underground were adverts reading “It’s not him, it’s his hormones,” “Men, why are you so hormonal?” and “Men get hormonal too.” These adverts were criticised for adopting the tired rhetoric regularly used against women, and for exaggerating the normal and healthy symptoms of aging.
By widening the definition of testosterone deficiency and narrowing the span of a healthy BMI, Voy creates insecurities and increases the market for their various drugs. As our culture absorbs these changing definitions of wellness, healthy human bodies are first transformed into patients, and finally customers.
Furthermore, weight-loss companies disproportionately target vulnerable young people, who are bombarded with adverts both online and in the real world. The extent to which young people are exposed to these drugs on social media is shocking: 41per cent of 13-17-year-olds have seen influencers promote prescription-only weight-loss drugs, and 8 per cent have bought or tried non-prescription weight-loss pills. Within this demographic, black children are more likely to try weight-loss products, and girls are more likely to see weight-loss injection adverts online. These adverts are inescapable, and thus successful: weight-loss companies monetise the insecurities they have helped to foster, while effectively priming their next generation of customers.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has received a litany of complaints concerning the promotion of prescription-only medicines, and it recently launched a formal investigation into these advertisements. The results of this investigation were confirmed on 5 October—Menwell Ltd (trading as Voy) have withdrawn the advertisements and acknowledge that their future marketing activities will comply with the legal regulations.
These adverts have been harmful for so many reasons, but thankfully it seems that we will soon be able to leave the house without facing weight-loss adverts that so explicitly sell insecurity.
It seems that finally, the wait is over.
Image by Diana Polekhina on Unsplash
