The Weight Loss Wars: A Cautionary Tale About Deceptive Marketing

How Novo Nordisk got caught with their own marketing violations, then had the audacity to blame everyone else

How’s this for hypocrisy? A company gets slapped with regulatory fines for misleading marketing about weight loss drugs, faces consumer lawsuits for illegally promoting medications off-label then turns around and sues competitors for “deceptive marketing.”

The Marketing Mess They Made

In October 2024, Norwegian regulators hit Novo Nordisk with fines for misleading marketing around Ozempic and Wegovy — including marketing Ozempic’s weight-loss effects despite it being a diabetes drug, failing to communicate how results vary between patients and conveniently forgetting to mention weight regain after stopping treatment.

Consumer lawsuits also allege the company promoted Ozempic off-label for weight loss, which pharmaceutical companies aren’t allowed to do.

In other words, Novo Nordisk helped create the very problem they’re now complaining about: a market flooded with misleading GLP-1 weight loss claims.

The Audacious Pivot

Fast-forward to June 2025, and suddenly Novo has changed their tune on marketing ethics. They dramatically ended their partnership with Hims & Hers, claiming “deceptive marketing that put patient safety at risk.” The announcement sent Hims & Hers stock plummeting by over 30%.

Just one month later, Novo slashed their own growth projections because competition from compounded GLP-1 drugs was eating into market share. Sales growth forecasts dropped from 13%–21% to 8%–14%. Those “dangerous knockoffs” were actually cutting into their bottom line.

The Projection Problem

It’s a masterclass in hypocrisy — accusing competitors of the exact marketing sins they committed themselves. Novo’s legal team has sued LifeRxMd, targeted compounding pharmacies and gone after anyone competing in the GLP-1 space, all while lecturing about patient safety and deceptive marketing.

Securities fraud investigators are now asking the obvious question: If these competitors were such a known safety threat in June, why did it take until July to admit they were hurting business? Were the patient safety concerns genuine or just cover for attacking competitors?

The Bottom Line

This isn’t about patient safety — it’s about a company that got caught playing fast and loose with marketing rules, then decided the best defense was offense. Novo created the Wild West atmosphere around GLP-1 marketing through their own violations, then acted shocked when competitors followed suit.

The company wants to profit from the weight loss craze they helped create through questionable marketing, while positioning themselves as ethical guardians when competitors threaten their market share.

At least to Novo, apparently “patient safety” means “protect our patents,” and “deceptive marketing” means “you’re doing what we got caught doing, but cheaper.”