Renowned German skincare brand Sebamed has won the first round of advertisement war against FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL).
USV Private Limited, which has the exclusive licence for marketing Sebamed's baby and adult care range of products in India, had dragged HUL's famous brands LUX, Dove, Pears and Rin into an acrimonious ad war. The USV Pvt Ltd. had erected a billboard right in front of the HUL head office in Mumbai in January of 2021.
The billboard openly challenged the science behind the development of skin-care soap brands(Pears, Dove and LUX). The case was that these soap companies used cheap methods of manufacturing the products and they all were unsuitable for major skin types due to the excess pH level.
As claimed by USV, the ideal pH level for skin-based products have to be around 5.5, but, the HUL brands had more than that. In fact, USV’s hoarding alleged that the pH level of these soaps (Pears, Dove and LUX) are on par with the detergent Rin. USV's advertising strategy has shaken up India's affordable soap market that was otherwise confidently relying on lucrative advertisements by movie stars without any reference to scientific data.
Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) immediately took USV to the Bombay High Court after filing a commercial lawsuit. HUL alleged that the comparison was only on the basis of pH levels which, by itself, is never the sole factor for ascertaining the mildness or harshness of soap on human skin.
In response, USV said that its claims are backed by science and later even pulled up reports which showed that higher pH level in skin-care products translated into harsher effects on the skin.
The Bombay High Court in January this year lifted an earlier stay on USV’s advertisement and allowed them to proceed with it but with one modification. The German company was told not to compare the skin-care soaps of HUL with the Rin detergent. The court, however, found “nothing disparaging” in Sebamed banner, saying it “only reflects” that it is better than Dove soap, made by Hindustan Unilever (HUL).
The Court also held that the advertisements in the present case is targeted at the regular consumer, and accordingly, one must apply these tests viewing it from the eyes of a common man with average intelligence.
Clearly, USV's strategy to create an uproar in the market through this campaign worked in their favour in the short term. The Court, however, is yet to pass a final order in the matter. HUL's branding team will have to come up with a quick reply in response to these pH campaigns, which will be interesting when it happens.
