Court restrains HUL from running Vaseline ad

Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) has been restrained by a Kolkata civil court from running its current Vaseline advertisement in any medium or language till further orders.

This directive was issued on a petition by Emami Group, which argues the Vaseline ad “slanders” its own Boroplus brand.

HUL’s impugned advertisement is a “deliberate and intentional disparagement” of Boroplus, using factually incorrect reasoning, contends Emami’s petition.

“The observations made against Boroplus in the advertisement are false and distorted, that aims to fraudulently denigrate the qualities and values of Boroplus,” stated Emami.

HUL confirmed the order but said: "This is an ex-parte order that has been obtained by Emami without giving due notice to us. This is a deviation from the standard practice of providing due notice and is, in fact, in contrast to the approach taken by HUL in a similar case."

 

HUL claimed it had given due notice before filing a case recently against Emami for its advertisement for a Talcum Powder brand.

The civil court order was passed on November 7.

"Emami has contended that the Vaseline advertisement categorically and unequivocally disparage BoroPlus through wrong claims," the Emami statement said.

HUL, meanwhile, claimed the term 'Boro' is not a trademark and that it is a term generic to various skin creams in the market.