Plucharm's 'Nobel-winning' hair tonic ads faked proof and a sell-out

Plucharm sold its quasi-drug hair tonic 'イクモアナノグロウリッチ' by mail order through websites reached from Instagram ads. The copy claimed anyone could easily achieve visibly stronger hair, and even suggested the product had effects 'grand enough to win a Nobel Prize' — a line built only on the fact that a 20th-century vitamin researcher had won one.

The before-and-after photos on the site were not real results: the company's ad agency had synthesised and modelled images, pairing thin-hair shots onto model photos. 'Testimonials' from supposed SNS account holders were likewise written by the agency, not actual users. On its own sales page, Plucharm claimed stock had sold out repeatedly in late 2024 and was nearly gone in January 2025, when substantial inventory actually existed.

On 23 March 2026 the Tokyo Metropolitan Government issued an administrative order under the Act Against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations, finding superior-quality misrepresentation (Article 5(1)) and stealth-marketing violations (Article 5(3)): the site did not disclose it was Plucharm's own advertising, and the 'hair diagnostician' quoted was a company employee. The evidence Plucharm submitted to justify the effect claims was held not to be reasonable.