On the 12th of January of 2021, the Portuguese Self-Regulation
Appeal Commission was presented with a dispute to decide on the
validity of a claim concerning a shampoo advertising campaign.
The dispute was between Procter & Gamble, Portugal,
S.A. (henceforth "Procter &
Gamble") and UNILEVER FIMA,
Lda. (henceforth
"UNILEVER"). Procter &
Gamble challenged
UNILEVER´s men shampoo advertising
campaign, claiming it amounted to misleading advertising since the
expressions "removes bacteria" and
"deep cleansing that removes dandruff and bacteria from
everyday life, while keeping the scalp healthy" could
disrespect the principle of truthfulness. In particular, that those
could lead the consumers into believing that the product in
question would be effective against the coronavirus, given the
current pandemic context.
