ASA upholds complaint against Colgate-Palmolive
Complaint brought by oral care rival GlaxoSmithKline
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint against advertising featuring Colgate-Palmolive’s Colgate toothpaste brand which was brought against the company by its rival oral health manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
The complaint was regarding advertising on a press advert, a leaflet and a website in May of this year and a television advert which screened in June of this year for Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief. Interestingly GSK was named as the company which had brought the complaint but this came as little surprise as it is a long-term rival of Colgate-Palmolive’s in the oral health sector.
The complaint itself centred around advert’s headline which advised viewers to ‘Switch to the most effective sensitive toothpaste’ while stating that the product provided ‘the most effective relief for sensitivity’. There were also claims made which focused on offering ‘superior pain relief’ and ‘superior lasting sensitivity protection’. GSK disputed all of these claims, saying they were ‘misleading and could not be substantiated’.
The ASA agreed with this and upheld these claims, stating that the various adverts must not appear again in their current form.
