The Bombay High Court passed an injunction order restraining German personal care brand Sebamed from airing its advertisement that compared the pH value of soap with Hindustan Unilever Ltd's (HUL) Dove, Pears, and Lux.
HUL said, "The Honourable Bombay High Court has ruled Sebamed’s entire campaign—based on the pH value of soap, comparing it to Dove, Pears, and Lux—as disparaging. In its order on the application, the Court passed an injunction restraining Sebamed from airing the advertisement in any manner."
"The ruling reaffirms that the advertisement campaign by Sebamed denigrated HUL’s brands and misled consumers on the basis of pH, which is just one of the many parameters that go into manufacturing soap," it said.
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Speaking on the ruling, Dev Bajpai, executive director, legal & corporate affairs, HUL said, "We are delighted with the Hon’ble High Court’s ruling, which observed that Sebamed’s campaign unfairly seeks to discredit soap brands of HUL, and therefore, HUL deserves protection.
We also found this campaign as one that was highly irresponsible, and that such a misleading communication was issued during the pandemic when the government and health authorities had advocated handwashing with any soap."
In the Sebamed campaign released in January 2021, Sebamed had claimed that Dove, Lux, and Pears, well-known soap brands that HUL has been marketing for decades, had higher pH, which was not apt for sensitive skin.
Through this order, the court has acknowledged that the advertisement’s purpose was not to promote a product by Sebamed but to discourage the consumer from purchasing HUL's products – which is not permissible.
First Published: Jun 17, 2022 11:53 PM IST
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