One of Australia’s most viral social media-first oral healthcare brands has been handed a substantial financial penalty by the national consumer and corporate regulator for deceptive advertising practices that tricked consumers into purchasing misrepresented products. Popular toothpaste and teeth care brand Hismile, whose products are stocked in major Australian supermarket chains Woolworths and Coles, has been ordered to pay $138,600 in total penalties following seven infringement notices issued by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) over false and misleading claims made across its social media channels.
The ACCC’s investigation uncovered a core deceptive practice at the heart of Hismile’s marketing campaigns: the brand had shared short-form social media videos presenting paid employees as unbiased, random shoppers offering genuine, unsolicited praise for Hismile products. These fake organic testimonials were designed to convince viewers of the brand’s quality through seemingly authentic user experiences, a tactic that has become common in influencer and social media marketing.
A second deceptive claim was tied to the brand’s now-discontinued Glostik Tooth Gloss product. Marketing videos for the item implied that it permanently removed existing stains from tooth enamel, but the product only delivered temporary cosmetic results that concealed stains rather than eliminating them entirely. The product has been pulled from shelves and Hismile’s product lineup following the regulator’s investigation.
Hismile has built a massive global social media following, amassing more than 5 million followers on TikTok alone, largely thanks to its viral, unconventional product collaborations — including a widely publicized KFC-flavored toothpaste that generated massive online engagement. That massive reach makes deceptive advertising all the more impactful, ACCC officials noted.
“Misleading social media advertisements can reach millions of consumers and may impact their purchasing decisions,” ACCC Commissioner Luke Woodward said in a statement following the ruling. “All businesses must ensure they are not making misleading or deceptive claims on social media platforms.”
Woodward emphasized that the deceptive content led consumers to purchase products that did not deliver the results Hismile advertised, a violation of Australia’s core consumer protection laws. “The ACCC has prioritised consumer and fair-trading issues relating to manipulative or deceptive advertising in the digital economy for several years,” he added.
Hismile has admitted that its posted content was misleading and violated the Australian Consumer Law. As part of the resolution with the ACCC, the brand has committed to several binding changes to its future marketing practices: it will no longer misrepresent employees as unaffiliated members of the public when sharing product testimonials, reviews or commentary. It will also develop and roll out a formal company-wide compliance program focused on competition and consumer law, and will publish a public notice on its website and social media platforms detailing the ACCC’s enforcement action to inform past and future customers of the issue.