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Singapore ad watchdog backs cancer survivor hair re-growth ad as ‘acceptable’

Beijing 101 ad scanAn ad that uses a recovered cancer patient to promote a hair re-growth treatment has been backed by Singapore’s advertising watchdog.

A print campaign for hair re-growth brand Beijing 101 is running in national newspapers in Singapore and features MediaCorp artiste Pan Ling Ling, who has recently recovered from cancer after chemotherapy.

The ad is running with the headline “Pan Ling Ling encounters hair problems and seeks help from Beijing 101, but makes no mention that Pan recently had chemotherapy, which caused her hair to fall out. It only states that before treatment with Beijing 101, “her scalp was oily and her hair follicles were clogged”.

The Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore has backed the ad, which has been criticised by some in the ad community for being opportunistic.

The ASA told Mumbrella: “We contacted Beijing 101 for substantiations and they had provided a written confirmation from Ms Pan Ling Ling that states that Beijing 101 had effectively treated her hair problems pertaining to an oily scalp and clogged hair follicles. The ASAS Council, after reviewing the written confirmation by Ms Pan, found the advertisement acceptable.”

The authority did not comment on the use of a recent cancer survivor in the campaign.

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