Delhi HC orders suspension of HUL’s shampoo ad; Rajiv Nayar, AS Chandiok appear

Two FMCG majors, or more specifically one FMCG’s advertisements, were the subjects of dispute before the Delhi High Court last week. Procter & Gamble Home Products has filed a suit against Hindustan Unilever over Unilever’s advertisement for Clinic Plus Strong and Long Shampoo..Four days ago, the High Court’s Rajiv Sahai Endlaw J. granted an interim injunction in favour of P&G after hearing arguments from senior counsel Rajiv Nayar (representing P&G) and AS Chandiok (representing HUL). According to P&G, an advertisement for HUL’s Clinic Plus shampoo makes, “false, unsubstantiated and malicious statements” against P&G’s Head & Shoulders shampoo..Rajiv Nayar argued that HUL’s advertisement clearly defames and disparages P&G’s product. The advertisement, which features Sakshi Tanwar, shows a young girl discussing how Clinic Plus is far better compared to a “leading anti dandruff shampoo” while showing a comparison between the two sachets next to each other on the screen. The voice-over in the advertisement claims that,“the anti dandruff shampoo worth Rs. 3 in the market” leads to hair fall..Now, P&G’s contention is that the sachet referred to is deceptively similar in colour scheme, size and design to that of Head & Shoulders. Therefore, as per P&G, the average consumer would associate the inferior product shown in the advertisement, with the plaintiff’s product..On the other hand, AS Chandiok not only challenged the High Court’s jurisdiction but also said that no case for any interim injunction was made out..In the end, the High Court ordered the immediate suspension of the advertisement, one which was currently being aired only on Zee Marathi. The matter will now be heard this Friday..Read the order below.