Sebamed to continue airing ads featuring Lux, Pears and Dove with tweaks

The Bombay High Court has for now settled the raging soap war between Sebamed and HUL. Following a short legal debacle between the two companies, the court allowed Sebamed to continue with its advertising campaign for its cleansing bar albeit with a few tweaks.

HUL took Sebamed to court after the latter showcased its leading soap brands Lux, Pears, Dove and Rin. Sebamed in its ad campaign highlighted that the HUL soaps were not ideal for healthy skin as they were high on the pH value.

A spokesperson from Sebamed’s legal team said, “We welcome the decision rendered by the hon'ble Bombay High Court. As stated earlier at Sebamed truth and transparency are our key building blocks. We have a legacy of 50+ yrs and our products are known for their highest quality standards across 80+countries globally. Sebamed's entire portfolio of Skin & Hair care products has a pH of 5.5 and our claims are backed by robust scientific research. We remain committed to educating customers on the benefits of pH 5.5 and serving them with highly efficacious products.”

The spokesperson further added that the judgement is an “unequivocal acknowledgement of its endeavours to educate consumers about pH values of soaps and their effects on the skin. The honourable judge permitted the Sebamed advertisement qua Dove to continue as it is with no changes, and for Lux, Pears and Santoor to continue after removing the segment relating to detergent bar. The Honourable Judge agreed that a fact based scientific comparison did not amount to disparagement and parties are free to mention names of competitor brands as long as there is evidence backed comparison.”