Zapzyt

CARU
News Releases
For Immediate Release
Contact: Elizabeth Lascoutx
212.705.0123

Waltman Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Agrees to Discontinue Zapzyt Acne Medication Commercial From Children’s Programming

New York, NY-July 29, 2003 – The Children’s Advertising Review Unit of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CARU) is pleased to announce that Waltman Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Waltman) has agreed to refrain from airing a commercial for its acne medicine, Zapzyt Acne Treatment Gel, during children’s programming. The commercial had aired during the “Jackie Chan” show. The commercial, which featured a teenage boy touting the product, aired during WB Kids’ Saturday morning block of children’s programming. Zapzyt Acne Treatment Gel is a medication, and contains 10% Benzoyl Peroxide. Its packaging contain the following warnings: “Keep out of the reach of children. If swallowed, get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away.” “Keep away from eyes, lips and mouth.”
CARU’s Guidelines expressly state, in part: “Medications, drugs…should not be advertised to children.” Waltman stated that it did not intend the ad to run during TV shows directed to young children and that the advertisement was specifically targeted to children ages twelve to seventeen. The advertiser further stated that it believed that children will not be purchasing these products, and that “parents are the responsible purchasing party.”

CARU’s inquiry was conducted under NAD/NARB/CARU Procedures for Voluntary Self-Regulation of National Advertising. Details of the inquiry, CARU’s decision and the advertiser’s response will be included in the next NAD/CARU Case Report. Members of the press who wish to see a copy of the decision now should email CARU.

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The National Advertising Review Council (NARC) was formed in 1971 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. (ANA), the American Association of Advertising Agencies, Inc. (AAAA), the American Advertising Federation, Inc. (AAF), and the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. (CBBB). Its purpose is to foster truth and accuracy in national advertising through voluntary self-regulation. NARC is the body that establishes the policies and procedures for the CBBB’s National Advertising Division (NAD), the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU), and the National Advertising Review Board (NARB). NAD and CARU are the investigative arms of the advertising industry’s voluntary self-regulation program. Their casework results from competitive challenges from other advertisers, and also from self-monitoring traditional and new media, including the Internet. The National Advertising Review Board (NARB), the appeals body, is a peer group from which ad-hoc panels are selected to adjudicate those cases that are not resolved at the NAD/CARU level. This unique, self-regulatory system is funded entirely by the business community; CARU is financed by the children’s advertising industry, while NAD/NARB’s sole source of funding is derived from membership fees paid to the Council of Better Business Bureaus.

http://www.caru.org/news/2003/zapzyt.asp