Soap campaigns: Bombay High Court restrains Sebamed ad

The Bombay High Court in an interim order on Monday restrained German skincare firm Sebamed from airing or publishing its commercial claiming higher pH levels in beauty soaps of HUL, the FMCG leader said in a statement.

The court passed the order on a petition filed by HUL, it added.

''In terms of the order, pending hearing and final disposal of the matter, USV Private Limited and its affiliates, and their advertising agencies were restrained by an injunction from, in any manner, using, telecasting or broadcasting or communicating to the public the TVC, newspaper advertisements, hoardings and such other material in any language or any other content of similar nature,'' it said.

The matter will now come up for hearing on January 14 , the statement added. USV Private Ltd owns the Sebamed range of products in India. An e-mail sent to the company in this matter did not elicit any immediate response.

Sebamed and HUL got embroiled in an ad war after the German skincare firm likened HUL's beauty soaps to its detergent bars in an advertisement.

In the ad, Sebamed claimed that HUL beauty soaps Dove, Lux and Pears have higher pH levels, which harms sensitive skin.

In the advertisement, Sebamed had compared Lux and Pears with Rin, a detergent bar, and had implied Dove was an inferior product due to being pH neutral. ''Did you know the pH of Lux is the same as Rin?'' Sebamed said in a print campaign. Following this, HUL had come out with an ad defending its beauty soap Dove.

According to HUL, the high court has held that it has a ''prima facie case for grant of ad-interim relief''.

''The Court recorded the submissions of HUL that the advertisement campaign denigrates its brands and products, does not take into account the full formulations of the products in question, and misleads consumers only on the basis of pH,'' it said.

Commenting on the development, HUL Executive Director, Legal & Corporate Affairs Dev Bajpai said, ''HUL's brands are time-tested and have always delivered on the promise they have made to their consumers.'' PTI KRH ABMABM

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