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 Anna Nicole Smith's "after" photos were jaw-dropping.
In an advertisement that first appeared in a 2003 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine — and is now a government exhibit — the former Playboy model-turned-sad-sack-reality-TV-star testifies to the wonders of the Trimspa slimming drug, with four high-color photos.
There is Anna Nicole, smiling gloriously at a public appearance; then wearing a seductive come-hither look; then in lingerie; followed by another picture of her laughing flirtatiously.
Beside them is a much smaller, depressing, black-and-white photo of Anna Nicole before she supposedly lost 69 pounds in eight months. In this "before" photo, her hair sticks out from the side of her head, her arms are plump, and her smile is fixed and awkward.
The message is obvious: With Trimspa, you'll love yourself. Without it, you won't.
But this month, Trimspa and the marketers of three other pills purported to aid in weight loss — Xenadrine EFX, CortiSlim, and One-A-Day WeightSmart — paid a total of $25 million in fines and settlements to the Federal Trade Commission for false advertising.
The reason: No evidence to back up their claims.
The cases also shed new light on the supposed accuracy of "before" and "after" dieting photos you see in magazine ads and late-night TV, on billboards and in subway cars.
In the Trimspa case, the FTC found that the ads didn't explain that Anna Nicole was paid — and more importantly, her Trimspa claims were not backed up by any scientific research. In fact, Trimspa has now been banned from making any further claims about the "health benefits, performance, efficacy, safety or side effects" of Trimspa's supposed miracle ingredient, hoodia gordonii, unless it comes up with some evidence.
So how do advertisers frame the "before" and "after" diet photos for the multi-billion dollar dieting industry?
Here are just some of the tricks exposed by FTC and customer lawsuits:
FREE DONUTS AND ICE CREAM
In order to bulk up models for the depressing "before" photo, the models are encouraged to eat as much fatty food as possible. Todd Macaluso, a San Diego lawyer who lead a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Xenadrine, took sworn statements from several Xenadrine "before and after" models.
"They encouraged models to eat like pigs for a few weeks at a time, that's how it's done" he said.
One Xenadrine model, Los Angeles bodybuilder Mike Piacentino, swore in a deposition that he was paid to eat ice cream and donuts three weeks in advance of his "before" shoot.
WEAR YOUR TIGHT PANTS
Piacentino said that, on the day of his "before" photo shoot in Central New Jersey, he was told to wear tightly-bound string pants that would press against his lower abdomen and force the fat to "hang out" over the top. He was also told to make sure the pant legs were loose and hid his well-developed, body-builder thighs.
In Anna Nicole's "before" photo, she is also wearing string pants, which accentuate the tummy bulge.
LOOK AS MISERABLE AS POSSIBLE
Piacentino reported that he was told to slouch, press out his belly and look depressed for the "before" photo. In some cases recorded by Macaluso, women were told not to wear any makeup for the "before" photo and were given elaborate makeovers for the "after" shot. Many of the "before" photos cited in the FTC case were photographed in black and white to add to the misery factor.
PERSONAL TRAINERS, GYM MEMBERSHIPS
According to FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras, the personalities hired by the diet pill companies are often offered diet coaches and personal trainers to guarantee weight loss. Peter Miller, an FTC lawyer, said he has come across several instances of hidden coaching, but the $25 million settlement was reached before he could call witnesses.
"Let's just say we wouldn't bring forward a complaint unless we were confident we had a case," he said.
LOTS OF DIFFERENT PILLS
Mike Piacentino said that he was given many different kinds of dieting supplements, not just Xenadrine. He was also told to take a water-expelling diuretic pill so that he would lose as much weigh as possible in time for the "after" photo.
EXAGGERATED WEIGHT LOSS AND MUSCLE GAIN
Piacentino said his weight loss came nowhere nearly as quick as Xenadrine claimed.
Also, his gym workouts exposed the hard stomach muscle that he had built up over years in the bodybuilding business, and he did not pack on "a phenomenal 12 pounds of lean muscle mass" as Xenadrine had claimed.
The key, Miller said, is to watch out for unsubstantiated claims. "We're not saying diet pill companies can't run 'before' and 'after' photos, but we are saying that they will have to show evidence. We're telling advertisers that time's up on false claims. Now, they're going to have to show us the proof."
THE PLAYERS, AND THE FINES
Following the settlements, marketers for Xenadrine EFX and CortiSlim did not return telephone calls from the AP seeking comment. Bayer disagreed with the FTC's description of the company as a marketer of a weight-loss pill, saying it sold One-A-Day WeightSmart as a multivitamin.
TrimSpa released a statement saying the FTC's investigation of a handful of its ads was "amicably resolved" without the company's admission of any liability.
In all cases, the pills will remain for sale.
Here's a breakdown of the fines and penalties:
— A fine of at least $8 million was levied against RTC Research & Development, LLC, based in Manasquan, N.J., which markets Xenadrine EFX.
— A $12 million fine was assessed against Window Rock Health Laboratories, based in Brea, Calif., the marketers of CortiSlim.
— The Bayer Corp., makers of One-A-Day WeightSmart based in Morristown, N.J., will pay a $3.2 million civil penalty to settle unsubstantiated claims that it increases metabolism.
— The marketers of TrimSpa, Goen Technologies Corp., based in Whippany, N.J., will pay $1.5 million.
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asap contributor Sean O'Driscoll lives in New York.
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