Creative Marketing on Labeling May Mislead the Unaware Consumer!

A typical example of creative marketing is the use of the word "cosmeceutical" or other similar terms. We are seeing them more and more on products and on entire lines of products. It implies a pharmaceutical quality to the products and makes the consumer who is unaware think that it must be a higher, more serious type of skin care product. In fact, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), the official U.S. regulating body, recognizes only two types of products: drugs (as in medicines) and cosmetics. Drugs are either a prescription type or the more benign type which can be purchased in a drugstore over-the-counter. There are no other FDA product categories, therefore there is no official cosmeceutical category.

Another regulated term is "active ingredient." It is used a great deal, particularly by European skincare lines, because those specific words do not have the same definition in Europe as the one given by the FDA. Used among professionals who know when the term is used loosely, there is really no harm even though it is quite improper. In that case, the words are used to point to the ingredients that are responsible for the intended action of the product, for what gives it its characteristics and uniqueness. They could be called "functional," "key,' or "defining ingredients.' But to use the term "active ingredient" with anyone who might take it literally is fraudulent. This is because what defines a drug is the very presence of at least one active ingredient, specifically defined and regulated by the FDA. These ingredients are listed as such on any drug container. An absence of FDA-approved active ingredients makes the product something other than a drug and that means it is a cosmetic product notwithstanding the creativity of a copywriter who was intent on conveying something other than what it is.

Cosmeceuticals and other similarly named products have no "active ingredients,' otherwise they would be considered drugs and would be under FDA regulation. Some manufacturers claim that the presence of a so-called "bio active ingredients" is the justification for their attempted differentiation. Unfortunately, the term 'bio-active" is also a fabricated one that is not regulated. Again, this is creating a make-believe image. It tries to convey exclusivity for unregulated products based on the presence of some unregulated ingredient(s). Pure marketing genius!