The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2024
Bodyfriend's massage chair 'improves focus and memory' — the KFTC fined it ₩46m
Bodyfriend's user manual said the chair's 'brain massage program' improves concentration and memory. The KFTC fined it ₩46m for unproven claims.
Bodyfriend · 2024-12-10
What happened
Bodyfriend sold its 'Azera Plus' massage-chair model from March to September 2021. The product's user manual stated that the 'brain massage program' improved concentration and memory.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission found these effects were not proven by objective or scientific procedure. The clinical-trial data Bodyfriend submitted was deemed unreliable and did not demonstrate any improvement in memory or concentration, and the manual's technical jargon such as 'binaural beats' could mislead consumers.
The KFTC ruled the manual violated the Fair Labeling and Advertising Act, noting the company had slipped unproven claims into the manual as a roundabout way of providing product information.
It imposed a corrective order and a surcharge of 46 million won.
Why it happened
- A wellness feature framed as a medical benefit needs evidence, and slangy tech terms do not supply it
- Putting the claim in the manual let the company reach buyers without a formal ad buy
- Submitting unusable clinical data was worse than submitting none — it exposed the claim
The lesson
A health or cognitive benefit in a manual is still a claim about the product. If the evidence cannot survive a regulator's look, the feature is bait sold at premium price.
Aftermath
The KFTC ruled Bodyfriend's user-manual claim that its 'brain massage program' improved concentration and memory violated the Fair Labeling and Advertising Act, because the clinical data submitted did not demonstrate the effect and the unsupported claim could hinder rational purchasing. It imposed a corrective order and a 46 million won surcharge on the unproven claim.
Sources
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