Groupon rapped for selling snake oil

Rob Beschizza 5:03 am Thu Jan 26, 2012

snake1

Snake with thought bubble, Shutterstock

Britain's Advertising Standards Agency has banned Groupon from marketing snake oil.

An internet sales promotion for "Wrinkle Killer Snake Serum" promised to "reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles" and "tackle the signs of ageing." When challenged, Groupon claimed that the claims refer only to the "sensory and/or temporary effects of the product's application". The ASA ruled that they were "misleading and could not be substantiated," and could not be made again. It also ordered Groupon not to make future efficacy claims without substantiation.

The product, sold in lipstick-sized containers for £119($170), is advertised online with even more fanciful language: "Wrinkle Killer Snake Serum, uses a combination of oxygen and a formula replicating the Temple Viper’s venom to inhibit muscle contractions therefore reducing wrinkles."

Such products may fail science class, but are not without advocates. Britain's highly-respected Daily Mail newspaper described the creams as "the latest antidote to wrinkles" in an unbylined report whose primary source was a manager at a department store that sells them.

Amazon used a China firm on U.S. blacklist for thermal cameras to monitor workers for COVID-19 fever

• Amazon's new Chinese thermal spycam vendor was blacklisted by U.S. over allegations it helped China detain and monitor Uighurs and other Muslim minorities READ THE REST
Financial Times journalist Mark Di Stefano accused of accessing private Zoom meetings, then publishing the information

Mark Di Stefano of the Financial Times is accused by The Independent of accessing private Zoom meetings held by The Independent and The Evening Standard as journalists were learning how… READ THE REST
Hackers tried to break into WHO, which faces more than two-fold increase in cyberattacks

Hackers tried to break into the World Health Organization earlier in March, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread, Reuters reports. Security experts blame an advanced cyber-espionage hacker group known as DarkHotel.… READ THE REST
Short Post, just one paragraph

Dessert cheesecake wafer bear claw fruitcake. Fruitcake chupa chups donut candy canes marzipan. Apple pie sweet roll tart chocolate cake macaroon marshmallow carrot cake gummi bears sweet. Pastry sugar plum… READ THE REST
Save 50% on a 1-year subscription to Dashlane's premium password manager

We all know vital information about ourselves and our private digital accounts can be compromised by cybercriminals. However, many would be frightened to know just how compromised they and their… READ THE REST
The Bite Helper removes the itch of a mosquito bite in seconds

While mosquitoes have certainly earned their title as the deadliest animal on earth, their impact on most of our lives is usually a lot less consequential. But even though they… READ THE REST