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Online pharmacy Voy has been reprimanded by the UK’s advertising watchdog over three marketing emails offering Black Friday deals on weight loss injections.

Voy, whose registered name is Menwell, sent three emails in November 2025 that breached the CAP Code for non-broadcast marketing, said the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in a ruling published today (May 27).

The first ad included messages such as: “Our extended offer is coming an end: Expired”; “Last day to save up to £70 OFF all plans”; and “Black Friday is almost over for good”.

The email also showed a branded Wegovy injection pen with the message: “£50 OFF voy OFFER ENDS SOON”.

The second ad featured similar messaging to the first, including “Black Friday is live – Up to £70 OFF weight loss plans” and an image of an injection pen with ‘tirzepatide’ on the label and a roundel next to it stating “£50 OFF”.

The third ad featured the same injection pen image as the second with a similar ‘£50 off’ message and promoted Black Friday discounts.

While the three emails formed part of a marketing campaign that ran between November 17 and December 3, the December end date “was not stated in the ads,” said the ASA.

Investigating the issue, the ASA found that by emphasising time-limited discounts and using “urgency-based language,” the promotions “encouraged consumers to make a rushed transactional decision to purchase or sign up to a medicated weight loss programme, for fear of missing out”.

This meant the ads were not “prepared in a socially responsible manner” and were in breach of the CAP code, the ASA added.

The ASA also found that in featuring named prescription medicines, the ads had promoted POMs to the public – a separate and distinct breach of the advertising code.

The watchdog sought advice from the MHRA, which “expressed concern that the ads may not have supported rational use of a medicinal product”.

Voy said the emails were ‘customer relationship management’ (CRM) communications that were “sent to individuals in its systems and not accessible to the general public,” according to the ASA’s ruling.

The emails were sent to two “relevant recipient groups” – one group of current or former patients of the company’s clinician-led weight management programme, and a second group of individuals who had opted in to receive marketing communications, said Voy.  

The company said that while it is sometimes “necessary to refer to prescription-only medicines in essential service communications,” it acknowledged that named prescription medicines should not have been mentioned in the Black Friday emails.

The ASA told Voy it must not repeat the ads in the form complained of and that ensure its future advertising does not “create an undue sense of urgency for consumers considering medicated weight loss programmes”.

Voy, which has had several previous complaints upheld by the ASA concerning the promotion of weight loss drugs, told the ASA it has “addressed the error internally” and “reinforced controls” to prevent specific POMs being referenced in future marketing communications.

A Voy spokesperson said: "We recognise the importance of exercising particular care when using urgency-based language in a healthcare context.

“We have therefore reviewed our approach to time-limited promotions in CRM communications to ensure that future messaging is appropriately balanced and avoids any perception of encouraging rushed healthcare decisions."

Related: ASA upholds complaint against ‘misleading’ Boots Black Friday promotion