Unilever Pakistan has said that it will challenge the order of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) after the authority said it is imposing a fine of Rs60 million on the multinational company for airing deceptive claims through television commercials for its hygiene and cleansing products, ‘Lifebuoy (Care and Protect) Soap’ and ‘Lifebuoy Hand Wash’.
“Unilever Pakistan is a responsible marketeer and a member of the Pakistan Advertisers Society,” Unilever Pakistan said in a statement.
“Lifebuoy is a trusted brand name and stands by its claims and will be challenging CCP’s order before the appropriate Appellate Forum.”
Its statement comes after the CCP said on Friday that it has passed an order imposing the fine.
“The commission’s bench disposed of proceedings pertaining to a show cause notice issued to Unilever Pakistan for prima facie violations of Section 10 of the Competition Act of 2010 that prevents businesses from engaging in deceptive marketing tactics based on misleading information or false claims,” it added.
“Enforcing prohibition against deceptive marketing is one of the core mandates of CCP.
“The commission protects consumers from misleading information and safeguard competitors from anti-competitive behaviour that could harm business interests of undertakings,” the statement read.
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According to details, based on a complaint submitted by Reckitt Benckiser about products namely Lifebuoy Soap and hand wash, CCP conducted an inquiry into Unilever Pakistan Limited’s absolute claims regarding its products, such as “100% guaranteed protection from germs”, “World’s No. 1 germ protection soap”, and “99.9% germ protection in 10 seconds.”
“The disclaimers about these claims were printed in tiny fonts and were hardly noticeable.
“Unilever Pakistan Limited was found to be misleading consumers and harming other businesses by making false claims about their products,” the CCP added.
The commission’s order observed five distinct violations of Section 10 of the Competition Act.
“The claims related to health and safety were not substantiated by reliable scientific evidence. The order also cited that Unilever continued to engage in deceptive practices despite the issuance of a show cause notice.
“The order further noted that Unilever’s deceptive practices varied by region, with different wording for the same product in countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UK, and Bangladesh.
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“The most severe deceptions were found in Pakistan, which the commission deemed unacceptable.”
While imposing a penalty of Rs60 million on Unilever for deceptive marketing practices, the CCP additionally directed Unilever to submit a compliance report to the Registrar of CCP within 30 days of issuance of the order.
The story, originally published on August 9, 2024, was updated on August 10, 2024 to incorporate Unilever Pakistan’s statement on the CCP order.
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