In a significant move, the Calcutta High Court has passed an interim order restraining FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) from advertising its recent Rin advertisement. Battlelines were drawn when HUL beamed a high-voltage television campaign that directly compared the performance of Procter &Gamble (P&G)?s Tide and HUL?s Rin last week. Enraged by this comparison, P&G had filed a case against HUL?s Rin ad in the Kokata High court two days ago.
According to a press statement from P&G, the court has supported P&G?s belief that the advertisement is ?disparaging? and has instructed HUL to take the advertisement off immediately. ?The court has also stated that HUL is barred from showing any such advertisements in the future,? according to the company.
Sumit Vohra, marketing director of P&G India said, ?We are pleased that the court supports our view that the recent Rin advertisement is misleading and the comparison made by HUL in their Rin advertising is false and incorrect. The court has passed an ad interim order restraining HUL from airing the Rin advertising effective immediately while allowing us to continue airing the Tide Naturals commercials.?
When contacted by FE, an HUL spokesperson said that the high court has on Friday issued an ad interim injunction asking HUL to stop airing the Rin advertisement. ?The detailed order is awaited. HUL will comply with the order. It is pertinent to clarify that the Rin advertisement was issued in the interest of consumers to reinforce the promise that Rin delivers superior whiteness to enable consumers to make an informed choice,? said a company spokesperson.
