Hypnotic tapes claims were inflated

Paul McKenna, the television hypnotist, put his name to exaggerated claims about "powerful hypnotic tapes" his company was selling, the Advertising Standards Authority said yesterday. It was upholding a complaint challenging claims made for the audio tapes in a national newspaper advertisement.

The advertisement was headed "I will give you the power to succeed" and included the headlines "Immediate improvement" and "Lasting benefits".

It claimed: "I have helped thousands of people, from leading business people to sports champions, to maximise their performance. Now the same is available to you on the most powerful and effective hypnotic tapes I have ever made.

"As you will discover, hypnosis really works. It's powerful and it's safe ... improvement starts right away and generally takes a few weeks to complete."

The message in the advertisement was signed by McKenna, whose television show The Hypnotic World of Paul McKenna turned him into a household name. The ASA adjudication noted advertisers' point that the tapes were not always successful, but said it considered "that several of the claims exaggerated the benefits of hypnosis".