An advertisement for a fertility clinic, which claimed one of its doctors was the most 'active' and 'successful' IVF doctor in Ireland, has been found to be in breach of the advertising code.

The Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI) said the ad on Thérapie Fertility's social media page was one of 18 advertisements across television, print, online and social media which were at fault.

The complaint about Thérapie's advertisement was lodged by rivals Beacon Care Fertility.

In the advertisement, there was an image of a doctor from Thérapie Fertility clinic alongside his professional qualifications.

The text under the picture stated: "The most active doctor in IVF in Ireland over the last six years... and has been responsible for more successful IVF cycles than any other doctor in the country at that time."

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Beacon Care Fertility said the statement was misleading, asking what data and statistics were available to substantiate the claims. The ASAI said Thérapie failed to provide a response to the complaint.

The ASAI's Complaints Committee said claims should not be made unless the truth of that claim could be proven, and it said the advertisement should not be published again before that was done.

Another complaint that was upheld related to an ad for VeganTan on that company's website.

Under the heading 'Plastic Negative Products', it said: "Our bottles may look like plastic, but they're actually made from sugar polymer and reclaimed plastic from the ocean. You won't find any plastic here! The complete range of VeganTan products carry a plastic negative footprint - talk about sweet sunshine!"

The complainant said that bottles were made from sugar-cane created plastic, and this resulted in the exact same product the advertisers were claiming not to use.

The company explained that it had been awarded a plastic-negative status for their brands, including Vegan-Tan.

They said they paid a fee to RePurpose Global on every single bottle of VeganTan sold to maintain this status. The Complaints Committee said they did not consider the subscription was adequate to substantiate the claim in the ad.

Meanwhile, a press advertisement for a non-surgical treatment for fat reduction and muscle building, called Emsculpt Neo, featured a picture of a woman with defined torso muscles.

It stated: "The Number One in body shaping. 30 min procedure. Less Fat. Muscle More."

A complaint said that the advertising was misleading, as it implied an obese person could achieve a muscular stomach after one or more 30-minute procedures.

The Complaints Committee considered that the image, together with the wording, could create an impression that any user of the treatment could achieve the results featured, As evidence had not been provided to substantiate this, the committee said the advert breached its code.

Chief executive of the ASAI, Orla Twomey, commented: "The latest complaints bulletin from the ASAI demonstrates our ability to ensure that advertisers in Ireland abide by the advertising rules."