The company states that HUL’s campaign was a classic hit and run, falsely implying that Honasa’s sunscreen is ineffective and makes misleading claims
Alleging that Hindustan Unilever’s advertisement campaign regarding the efficacy of digital-first sunscreen brands is false, disparaging and misleading, Honasa Consumer, the parent company of Mamaearth, has taken HUL to the Delhi High Court (HC), seeking the removal of the ad campaign.
Honasa alleged that the Lakme Sun Expert SPF 50 advertisement campaign targets The Derma Co’s sunscreen. The company stated that HUL’s campaign was a classic hit and run, falsely implying that Honasa’s sunscreen is ineffective and makes misleading claims, as per the media reports.
Appearing for Honasa, Senior Advocate Amit Sibal stated that the Derma Co sunscreen has been independently tested using in-vivo methods and has been certified with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 50.169.
Sibal argued that the ad campaign alleges that if someone uses their product, there will be pigmentation. He said that they need to show proof, as they cannot strike at the heart of the Derma Co’s brand identity and commercial standing.
Justice Amit Bansal, who heard the case, told HUL’s advocate that the advertisement, on the face of it, is disparaging and what I am conveying to you should be conveyed to your client, as highlighted in the reports.
On the other hand, Hindustan Unilever stated that it has also filed a suit against Honasa as the company is likely to argue that it has brought out the advertisement while staying within the bounds of comparative advertising.
The issue received attention when Ghazal Alagh, the Co-founder of Mamaearth, took to LinkedIn and congratulated Lakme on entering the in-vivo tested SPF 50 club, while calling out the brand for copying.
“Indian FMCG has lacked good competition for a long time, leading to large traditional brands becoming complacent…Happy to see traditional brands follow again and even blatantly copy products from name to packaging. We will keep innovating and showing the way,” Alagh wrote.
She added that the company takes pride in the fact that it has been challenging the norms and waking up these brands time and again. She highlighted that Mamaearth is making brands move towards clean label ingredients and The Derma Co. is showing the way around honest active disclosures and claims based on science.
