Naughty, naughty Neutrogena! WWD reports that Unilever (specifically Dove skin care) has filed a complaint with the the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus because they feel that three of the tag lines within Neutrogena ads contain misleading statements. The tag lines are:
"#1 Dermatologist Recommended" "No wonder dermatologists recommend Neutrogena most" "One more reason why Neutrogena is recommended most by dermatologists"
Dove believes these ads insinuate that dermatologists recommend the Neutrogena brand overall, not just specific products. Johnson & Johnson (Neutrogena's parent company) refuses to comment on litigation, but if they don't comply with these challenges, they risk involvement from the Federal Trade Commission. Do you feel that exaggerating is a form of a lie? And considering Rimmel's dust-up and L'Oréal's advertising troubles, do you think we'll see more clarity in marketing anytime soon?
Paul Smith
Crocs
Hafize Ozbudak
It's a little petty, in my opinion the ads may insinuate that dermatologists recommend the Neutrogena brand overall, but it doesn't out right say that so Dove needs to relax. It's up to the consumer to shop wisely and not listen to everything they hear or read not a competitor to try and damage another company not by making a superior product, but by lawsuits!
1I don't think it's petty. I think companies are taking too many liberties with the truth in their advertising. But consumers can be more aware, more conscientious, and understand advertising claims are often inflated.
2Hmm...ironic, seeing as the women in Dove's "natural beauty campaign" were wearing makeup and were found to be "digitally altered."
I agree with bastylefilegirl: this is petty. EVERY company works to find the right wording to entice, but not mislead. It's the consumer's job to figure out what's truth and what's a big exaggeration. Shop wisely.
3I feel like almost every brand exaggerates and makes false claims to some degree.
4Omilawd, I didn't even think of that — I'd forgotten about the flap about the "natural beauty" campaign. Good catch!
5Who cares about this? The advertising stating that Derms recommend Neutrogena products more than anything else doesn't influence my decision to buy those products at all! This is a ridiculous topic! Of course all advertising lies, I mean c'mon! In the words of my two year old, "DUHHHHHHH!"
6popular saying in advertising: "Caveat emptor," aka "let the buyer beware."
7i don't think that companies will ever truly let up on "misleading" advertising.. it's just the name of the game..
their entire objective is to get consumers to believe that their product is the best..
not to say that i think that it's ethical when companies do this, but just saying that it's up to every individual to judge the product for themselves..
I think we try to baby consumers too much. By all means, we should prevent harmful ingredients from getting into products but as far as advertising is concerned, I don't think there is much need for micromanaging. We live in an age of readily accessible information. You have access to consumer reviews as well as information about specific ingredients in a product. Even if you don't have internet access, you should have enough intellect to realize that people who are trying to make money off of you are not necessarily trustworthy sources of information and rely on friends and your BS detector. If this is something you're not willing to do as a consumer...well, we can just call that a new form of natural selection.
8neutrogena really is dermotologest recomended because mine recomended the face wash and moisturizer and T- Gel for my dandruff!! it really is my favorate brand and that tanning lotin looks like its going to be my new friend:)
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