Advert for £49 face serum banned over misleading 'five years younger' claim

An advert for a £49 face serum has been banned over misleading claims that it made users look up to five years younger. The billboard poster claimed the Eucerin Hyaluron-Filler Epigenetic Serum was "clinically proven" following a study of 160 people who used the product for four weeks before being asked how much younger they thought they looked. The advertising watchdog said it had concerns over the study's methodology and the self-reporting meant the results were subjective. Beiersdorf told the investigation it presented the claim as "up to" five years younger to reflect a genuine maximum rather than a typical result. It told the BBC its products were "supported by scientific research". The billboard poster attracted one complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in November 2025 after it appeared at London's Balham Tube station. The ASA report said: "We had concerns about the study's methodology, including that there was no control group, nor was there information about how participants were recruited." The ASA also said that the serum was tested in a different climate to the UK, and may not work similarly. It added that three other pieces of evidence Beiersdorf put f