While this clearly took away the surprise element
Incidentally, a complaint filed by HUL to the Advertising
however Standards Council of India (ASCI) against P&G's 'mystery shampoo' outdoor and print advertisement has been upheld by the advertising watch dog. The hoardings put up by P&G at July-end, talked about a mystery shampoo which "80% women say is better than anything else." P&G's move was immediately ambushed by HUL which came out with a parallel hoardings of Dove, saying, "There is no mystery. Dove is the No.1 shampoo".
While this clearly took away the surprise element from P&G's new Pantene launch, HUL did not sit quiet on its marketing punch. It later filed a complaint with ASCI against P&G's hoarding ad, terming it as "misleading". HUL's complaint was pinned on the fact that P&G had used an old study done in Thailand in 2008 to target Indian consumers.
When contacted, an HUL spokesperson confirmed to TOI: "Yes, we have filed a case in the Delhi High Court with regard to a disparaging claim being made in one of our competitors shampoo advertisement. However, as the matter is sub judice, we cannot offer any specific comments."
