Keep the lines that sell. Cut the ones that get you restricted.
Vera reads every live ad and landing page, flags the lines that put the account at risk under Meta’s, the FTC’s and the FDA’s rules, and gives you a safer line that still sells.
This week, 377 lines from supplement ads running on Meta, read and graded Red, Yellow or Green (our Ad Library sweeps, 2 to 4 November).
Two real lines from supplement ads we read this week
| Your line | Why it’s a risk | A safer line that keeps the sell |
|---|---|---|
| “Relief from bloating, constipation, and diarrhea.” | The FDA treats diarrhea, and constipation not called occasional, as signs of disease, so promising relief from them is a drug claim a supplement can’t make. | Relief from occasional bloating and occasional constipation. |
| “I have so much energy I don’t know what to do with myself!” | The FTC treats a customer’s result as the brand’s own claim, and this one is large, with nothing beside it about what customers generally get. | I’ve been feeling more energetic. |
Vera flags what risks the account. Not every adjective.
See a flag on one of your own pages: the preview.
The lines in your category that run longest, and stay live.
Gut health, from Meta’s Ad Library.
| Rank | The line | Tier and rule | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A line that tells shoppers the product gets rid of a parasite infestation, which reads as a cure. | Red, FDA | 1,049 days |
| 2 | A line that promises an end to bloating, which reads as a cure for a symptom. | Red, FDA | 997 days |
| 3 | A line that offers a natural cleanse for parasites, which reads as a claim to treat a condition. | Red, FDA | 464 days |
| 4 | Locked: in the audit. | Green | 368 days |
| 5 | Locked: in the audit. | Red, Meta | 336 days |
33 gut ads from Meta’s Ad Library, read 30 October to 2 November. Age is the days from each ad’s start date to the last day we saw it running. Running longest is not proof a line sells: a brand keeps an ad running for its own reasons. A correlation, not a cause. No brand, product or ad is named; flagged lines are described, not quoted.
Send one ad. See what Vera finds.
Send one ad: the one you would least like to lose, or the one that was pulled. Within one US business day you get back what Vera found: each line at risk, the rule it trips in plain words, and a safer line that keeps the sell.
Send one adPrefer to talk first? A 20-minute call.
After the audit: Vera, every day.
Before it runs
Every new ad and page read against the three rule books, with a safer line for each flag.
While it runs
The weekly watch on your live ads, and Winning Lines and your Claim Gap every month.
When something slips
A pulled ad or a restricted account on a claims reason: the rewrite and the appeal letter, the same day.
- Vera never edits an ad or touches your account. She reads; you decide.
- Public ads and pages: no login, no access to give.
- A person checks what Vera writes before you see it.
- You decide what changes, and Meta makes the final call on every ad.
Every brand starts with the audit.
Why I built this
In my view, supplement ads are rarely turned down for the product. They are turned down for a line. That is why I built Merchient to read a brand’s lines the way Meta’s health review, the FTC and the FDA read them.
The three rule books, in plain words
- Meta’s advertising standards
- An ad may not say or imply that it knows a viewer’s health, and may not show a before-and-after or a result that is unlikely.
- The FTC
- A health claim needs sound scientific proof behind it, and a customer’s result in an ad counts as the brand’s own claim.
- The FDA
- A supplement may say how it supports the body. A line that says it treats, cures or prevents a disease makes it a drug.
What Vera is not: a lawyer. The case file is a risk review, not a lawyer’s sign-off.
Questions
Can I still use customer results and testimonials?
Yes. The FTC treats a customer’s result as your own claim: it needs proof, and if you cannot show it is what customers generally get, the ad has to say what they generally get, close to the story. A line like “results may vary” does not do that job. The audit marks each testimonial that needs the typical-results line.
Are before-and-after images allowed?
Not in ads: Meta’s personal-health rules rule out before-and-after images and images of unlikely results. On your own pages the FTC’s rules apply, so a result you show has to be one customers generally get, or say what they do get. The audit reads the words in your ads and pages, not the images.
What if I disagree with a flag?
Reply to the case file. A person reads it and answers within the business day, with the rule and the reason. If the flag was wrong, the line comes off the list.
Does the price go up if I add ads?
No. The price is set by how many ads are live when you book, and it never goes up after you book.
How is this different from Meta’s own review?
Meta’s review decides whether an ad runs under Meta’s policies, and a rejection names the policy. The FTC and the FDA read your claims on their own terms, on your pages as well as your ads. The audit reads each live ad and page under all three, names the line and the rule, and gives you a safer line. Meta still makes the final call.
Is this a lawyer’s sign-off?
No. It is a risk review: each flagged line, the rule it trips, and how Meta, the FTC and the FDA read it. If you want a lawyer’s opinion on a line, the case file hands yours the lines and the rules in one place.
What arrives in 48 hours?
A numbered case file with your name on it. The Red and Yellow lines, one line each: the line, the rule it trips in plain words, and a safer line that keeps the sell. Then the lines that run longest in your category, with their ages, and your Claim Gap. Read by Vera, checked by a person.
What happens after the audit?
You decide what to change; nothing in your account changes unless you change it. If you want Vera every day, start within 14 days of your audit and the audit is credited in full against your first month. If not, the case file and the Winning Lines are yours.
48 hours from now
Stop finding out which line was the problem after the rejection.
Every live ad and page, read. Each line at risk, named, with a safer line that still sells.