According to an article of the Yomiuri Shimbun on 14th June 2008, the Fair Trade Commission has cautioned TV Asahi Corp. for providing misleading information on a horse saddle-style exercise machine sold in its shopping programs. This is the first time the FTC has admonished a broadcaster over a shopping program.
The broadcaster had claimed people could lose up to 6.6 kilograms by exercising on the machine for one hour per day for three weeks. However, the FTC obtained data from the manufacturer stating that a person could only lose up to 0.4 kilogram with this amount of exercise.
According to the FTC, about 53,000 of the fitness machines, Rodeo Boy II, were sold during a yearlong period via the shopping programs, with sales totaling about 1.5 billion yen.
TV Asahi featured the product in its shopping program Selection X, and other information programs between June 2006 and July 2007, claiming the machine could help reduce body weight.
To prove the product’s effectiveness, the programs introduced several individuals who allegedly had lost between 1.4 kilograms to 6.6 kilograms after using the machine for an hour a day over three weeks.
In response to the FTC’s inquiry, TV Asahi also disclosed it had carried out its own experiment with 14 people, but that six of the 14 trial subjects were dieting during the three-week experiment.
The FTC concluded that the TV programs might have led viewers to believe a considerable amount of weight could be lost in a short period of time merely by using the machine.
The administrative order is based on the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations, which prohibits a misleading commercial practice (art. 4(1)):
No entrepreneur shall make such representation as provided for in any one of the following items in connection with transactions of goods or services which he supplies: (i) Any representation by which the quality, standard or any other matter relating to the substance of goods or services are shown to general consumers to be much better than the actual one or much better than that of other entrepreneurs who are in a competitive relationship with the entrepreneur concerned contrary to the fact and thereby which tends to induce customers unjustly and to impede fair competition
Then, the Fair Trade Commission may order the entrepreneur concerned to cease the said act, or to take the measures necessary to prevent the reoccurrence of the said violation, or to take any other necessary measures including public notice of the matters relating to the implementation of such measures. Such an order may be issued even when the said violation has already ceased to exist (art.6(1)).
Trigger of the ordere
An article of weekly magazine brought about the order. The Yomiuri stated:
Last summer, Weekly Gendai magazine published stories claiming the broadcaster had falsified data on the product. In response, TV Asahi filed a libel suit in August with the Tokyo District Court against the magazine’s publisher, Kodansha Ltd. and others, demanding they pay compensation and publish an apology.
Did customers claim to TV Asahi?
Why did the TV Asahi claim to Kodansha? In all likelihood, the TV company must have considered that he could win this litigation.
According to the disclosure of the TV Asahi to the FTC, the effectiveness of the machine was limited; in other word, not all customers could enjoy the result of diet. Before the TV Asahi filed a lawsuit to Kodansha, some of customers might have claimed to TV Asahi or the maker. Then TV Asahi might have succeeded to reject these claims. If it is true, TV Asahi’s conduct would be extremely irresponsible and must be said to seriously betray a reliance of consumers.
