NEW YORK, Jan. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A panel of the National Advertising Review Board (NARB), the appellate advertising law body of BBB National Programs, has recommended that Perrigo Company, PLC discontinue the claim that its oral care business' Plackers floss product is the "#1 Brand of Flossers."
The advertising at issue had been challenged by the Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) before the National Advertising Division (NAD) as part of NAD's Fast Track SWIFT expedited challenge process, designed for single-issue advertising cases. Following NAD's decision (Case No. 7065), Perrigo appealed NAD's recommendations.
The NARB panel agreed with the position of NAD and the challenger that #1 claims are not supported without acceptable evidence that the category for which the claim is being made is recognized as a consumer-relevant category.
The panel concluded that the advertiser failed to provide sufficient evidence that the specific type of "flossers" at issue here (a piece of plastic ending in a two-pronged fork with a small piece of floss strung between the tines of the fork) is a category sufficiently separate and distinct from other oral care products that serve the same purpose (to remove plaque and clean between teeth) to be recognized by consumers as a separate category.
Although the panel recognized that this appears to be an expanding and developing area and there may come a time when a party may be able to show that a particular type of "flossers" is a separate and distinct category of oral care products from the perspective of the consumer, it found that such a conclusion was not warranted now on the record before it.
Therefore, the panel recommended that Perrigo discontinue the claim that its Plackers floss product is the "#1 Brand of Flossers."
Perrigo stated that it "will comply with the NARB's decision," although noted that it is "extremely disappointed in the decision," because it believes that "NARB failed to address any of the substantial, uncontroverted evidence Perrigo presented showing the consistent use of the flosser category by retailers and manufacturers, including P&G itself.
All BBB National Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case decision library. For the full text of NAD, NARB, and CARU decisions, subscribe to the online archive.
About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs is where businesses turn to enhance consumer trust and consumers are heard. The non-profit organization creates a fairer playing field for businesses and a better experience for consumers through the development and delivery of effective third-party accountability and dispute resolution programs. Embracing its role as an independent organization since the restructuring of the Council of Better Business Bureaus in June 2019, BBB National Programs today oversees more than a dozen leading national industry self-regulation programs, and continues to evolve its work and grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best practices in arenas such as advertising, child-directed marketing, and privacy. To learn more, visit bbbprograms.org.
About the National Advertising Review Board (NARB): The National Advertising Review Board (NARB) is the appellate body for BBB National Programs' advertising self-regulatory programs. NARB's panel members include 85 distinguished volunteer professionals from the national advertising industry, agencies, and public members, such as academics and former members of the public sector. NARB serves as a layer of independent industry peer review that helps engender trust and compliance in NAD, CARU, and DSSRC matters.
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SOURCE BBB National Programs
