Sebamed ad case: Bombay HC rules in favour of Hindustan Unilever

The Bombay High Court (HC) has passed an injunction restraining Sebamed from airing its advertisements that compared the pH value of its soap to that of Hindustan Unilever’s (HUL’s) Dove, Pears and Lux, HUL said in a press release. 

The HC ruled that Sebamed’s advertising campaign is disparaging.

In January 2021, Sebamed ran an advertising campaign that claimed that brands of HUL-Dove, Lux, and Pears had a higher pH value than its own soap and was not good for sensitive skin. 

pH indicates how acidic a soap is. The more its pH value, the more it is considered unsuitable for sensitive skin.

“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,” HUL said in its release. 

Dev Bajpai, executive director, legal & corporate affairs, HUL, said the HC ruling observed that Sebamed’s campaign unfairly sought 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 misleading communication was issued during the pandemic, when the government and health authorities had advocated handwashing with any soap,” Bajpai said. 

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, HUL said.