Adverts for a firm which arranges dental treatment in Turkey featuring three Love Island stars have been banned following a series of complaints.
The complaints were made against the website of Dental Centre Turkey as well as a Google ad and two Instagram posts made by the company.
After upholding the complaints relating to its operations and the treatment it arranged, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) told the firm to ensure it did not misleadingly imply it carried out dental work or manage the dental clinics referred to in its adverts.
Love Island trio
In March 2022, Dental Centre Turkey’s website said its head office was in Milton Keynes, stated it had “grown to be the largest facilitator of dental services in Turkey to the international community” and “Superior dental clinics in 4 stunning locations along the Mediterranean coastline.”
The site also featured a patient review video on its website from Love Island winner Nathan Massey who thanked the company for being “absolutely amazing”, adding he was so happy with his smile.
Fellow Love Island winner Cara De La Hoyde featured in the video thanking the company for her “brand-new” smile and praising the technology the company used.
The same month an Instagram ad featured another Love Island contestant Megan Barton Hanson during the process of selecting her veneers.
However, complaints questioned whether the head office of Dental Centre Turkey was in the UK and challenged whether the adverts misleadingly implied Dental Centre Turkey carried out dental work and the clinics referenced were managed by the firm.
Complaints upheld
Upholding the complaints, the ASA ruled the perception of having a UK head office would mean consumers understood the dental work advertised would be subject to standards and regulations set out by the General Dental Council.
The ASA added that it considered the impression that Dental Centre Turkey adhered to UK dental standards was further implied by referencing Harley Street.
It also noted CAP Guidance stated that clinics should not link themselves with renowned locations such as Harley Street unless they carried out consultations or surgery there.
On the Instagram ad featuring Barton Hanson, the ASA added it considered that the focus of the caption was on the actual dental work itself, rather than the service offered by Dental Centre Turkey which consisted of the booking and organisation of dental appointments and travel to Turkey.
Dental Centre Turkey UK Ltd t/a Dental Centre Turkey said it believed it was made explicitly clear in the ads that all dental treatments were carried out in Turkey.
It highlighted there were numerous references and descriptions of the dental treatments being carried out in Turkey in the ads.
It argued that including the UK head office would not alter a consumer’s perception of that fact, nor would a consumer likely believe that work was carried out by UK dentists because of its presence.
It added it was common for companies to have an administrative office in the UK and that it did not believe there to be any merit in this issue raised by the complainant.
But the ASA ruled that the ads must not appear again in their current form. The regulator also told Dental Centre Turkey UK Ltd trading as Dental Centre Turkey to ensure that, in the absence of adequate substantiation, its ads did not misleadingly imply it had a head office based in the UK.
It also told Dental Centre Turkey UK Ltd to ensure that the firm did not misleadingly imply that it carried out dental work and managed the dental clinics referred to in adverts.