To eliminate any association with the Derma Co brand, Hindustan Unilever will be changing the colour of the product that was displayed in the ad from orange to yellow, the reports state
After being taken to court by Honasa Consumer, the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) major, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), which owns the Lakme brand, has informed the Delhi High Court that it will take down the sunscreen advertisement, which allegedly disparages Honasa’s Derma Co brand.
As per the media reports, HUL informed the court that it will republish the advertisements after removing the references which have caused the dispute. Aimed at eliminating any association with the Derma Co brand, Hindustan Unilever will be changing the colour of the product that was displayed in the ad from orange to yellow, the reports added.
The company stated that it will be removing the online posts in 24 hours and hoardings in 48 hours, the reports highlighted. The issue revolves around the Lakme ad, which alleged that an online bestseller of sunscreen was not true in its claims regarding its sun protection factor (SPF) and the product could cause skin pigmentation.
Earlier, 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.
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.
