ASA Adjudication on Colgate-Palmolive (U.K.) Ltd

Ad

A poster, for toothpaste, stated "More than 80% Of Dentists recommend Colgate. Data on file Colgate, used and recommended by most dentists".

Issue

1. The complainant challenged whether the claim "More than 80% Of Dentists recommend Colgate" misleadingly implied dentists recommended Colgate over all other toothpastes.

2. The ASA challenged whether the claim "More than 80% Of Dentists recommend Colgate" misleadingly implied professional endorsement of the product by dentists.

CAP Code

Response

Colgate-Palmolive (UK) Ltd (Colgate) said they did not believe their claim was misleading. They pointed out that the claim referred to the Colgate brand, which contained products mainly classed as cosmetic, and the product featured in the ad, Colgate Total Advanced Fresh, was not a licensed medicinal product. They explained that they commissioned a research agency to survey dentists and hygienists on a wide range of subjects each year and that the dentists and hygienists took part in the survey voluntarily. They said the participants would be aware that the survey results might be used for a variety of reasons, including advertising. They maintained that the survey results supported the claim and supplied a copy of the survey questions and results relevant to the challenged claims.

Assessment

1. Upheld

The ASA considered that the claim would be understood by readers to mean that 80% of dentists recommended Colgate over and above other brands, and the remaining 20% would recommend different brands. However, we understood that the survey questions allowed each participant to recommend several toothpastes and brands, not just a single choice. Because we understood that another competitor's brand was recommended almost as much as the Colgate brand by the dentists surveyed, we concluded that the claim misleadingly implied 80% of dentists recommended Colgate toothpastes in preference to all other brands of toothpaste.

2. Upheld

We understood that the scripts for the phone surveys made clear that the research was being performed by an independent market research company aiming to assess hygienists' and dentists' attitudes towards dental products. We noted the script did not make clear that the research was being conducted on behalf of Colgate, or that the results could be used for advertising purposes. We considered that the claim "More than 80% of dentists recommend Colgate" implied professional endorsement of the whole Colgate brand. Because we understood that the interviewees' written permission was not obtained in relation to the implication that dentists endorsed the Colgate brand above all others, and because four of the Colgate branded toothpastes were licensed medicinal products for which endorsement by health professionals was prohibited, we concluded that the claim breached the Code.

On points 1 and 2, the poster breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness), 14.5 (Testimonials) and 50.17 (Endorsement of medicines).

Action

We told Colgate not to repeat the claim. We reminded Colgate that it was a breach of the CAP Code to use health professionals to endorse products that were classified as medicines.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)