Valkee's Website Was Misleading

Regular readers may know that I'm not a big fan of Valkee - the magic light you shine in your ears to improve your mood.

Back in September, I complained to the ASA about the Valkee website. I felt that it was making unfounded claims, was confusing testimonial with science, and was generally misleading.

In December, the ASA referred it to their counterparts in Finland for investigation.

Today, I received this back from them.

As you know, we previously referred your complaint about Valkee Ltd to our Finish counterparts.

I've now heard back from MEN, and in summary they state that the ad was considered to be misleading. The advertisers have been advised to amend the website and have been given information and guidance on how to stay in line with the Finish Code of Practice.

I do hope that this outcome is satisfactory to you, and finally I'd like to thank you for taking the time and trouble to raise your concerns with us.

Best regards,

[Redacted]
Cross-Border Complaints Executive

I'm still trying to find out if MEN have published anything specifying exactly which changes have been advised.

According to the ASA:

I don't think they operate in the same way as the ASA in terms of published adjudications, but the website is: http://www.kuluttajavirasto.fi/en-GB/consumer-advice/consumer-rights/marketing-and-advertising/. Looking at this it appears MEN referred the complaint to the Consumer Ombudsman for action as it is them that responded to us with their findings.

For information, the response to us was simply that they found the marketing to be misleading and that they had advised the advertisers of their requirements.