The Battle Of The Toothbrushes, Between P & G & Philips

In April 2018, the District Court of Rotterdam ruled on the toothbrush skirmish between Philips and P&G. P&G compared its Oral-B electric toothbrush with Philips' DiamondClean toothbrush in its advertising campaign. You've guessed it: Oral-B sparkles, it's "the best" and it "cleans better". The Philips model is shown in black, literally put in the shade. Philips was not amused, and demanded the campaign should be stopped at the provisional relief court.

Let's look into the theory for a moment. Comparative advertising is permitted, on condition that it isn't misleading, compares product features objectively and doesn't sully the competitor's reputation or belittle it. The advertiser has the burden of proving that the comparison is correct and complete. Quite a laundry list of requirements to meet, but comparative advertising is still possible!