Brillon Consumer Products Private Limited - All Out Ultra

Recommendation: Upheld | Medium: Industry Member

The ASCI had approached the advertiser for its response in addressing the grievances of the complainant and forwarded the details of the complaint, verbatim, to the advertiser with a request to respond to the same. The advertiser was offered an option to seek an Informal Resolution (IR) of the complaint by modifying or withdrawing the claims in the advertisement, or alternately to substantiate the claims with supporting data. The advertiser was also offered an opportunity for a telecon with the ASCI Secretariat, which they did not avail and submitted their response. The advertiser in their response stated that, “The phrase in question was intended to reflect the brand’s focus and specialization in mosquito control products, and not to imply market exclusivity….. the Advertiser herein is ready and willing to modify/amend its Impugned Advertisements to the extent, that the claim of the Advertiser that its brand is the ‘Only Mosquito Killer Brand’ will always be written and read in conjunction and in continuation with ‘Recommended By Indian Medical Association’. It is pertinent to state that the Advertiser herein, has entered into an Endorsement Agreement with the Indian Medical Association…. That as per the terms provided in ….. the said agreement, the Advertiser is permitted to use the name, logo and image, respective likeness, characterization, visual and audio representation of IMA (together "IMA Attributes") in connection with the Products and Brands…. Further, as per …… the aforesaid Agreement, the Advertiser is permitted to make a statement that the Products and/ or Brands are recommended or endorsed by IMA and make such other statements to show the fact of endorsement by IMA”. In support of their response, the advertiser provided - (1) Comparison chart of the impugned advertisement and the revised advertisement, (2) Copy of Endorsement Agreement entered into by the advertiser and Indian Medical Association. The Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) viewed the amazon advertisement (https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0DZ2K8575?ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_J88KEPMG2QEEBQN1KHJ6&ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_J88KEPMG2QEEBQN1KHJ6&social_share=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_J88KEPMG2QEEBQN1KHJ6&previewDoh=1) considered the complaint, and the advertiser’s response. The CCC reviewed the advertisement for the brand “All Out Extra”, which features two main claims: “Only Mosquito Killer Brand”, and “Recommended by Indian Medical Association” along with the visual display of the IMA seal. The CCC noted that the claim, “Only Mosquito Killer Brand” appears prominently and separately in the advertisement. This presentation is misleading as it suggests that ‘All Out Extra’ is the sole mosquito-killing racquet brand in the market. This claim is also factually incorrect, as there are multiple other mosquito-killing racquet brands available. In relation to the second claim, the CCC observed that the advertiser has submitted an endorsement agreement from the Indian Medical Association (IMA), confirming that the IMA has endorsed the statement: “Only Mosquito Killer Brand recommended by Indian Medical Association”. Based on this evidence, the CCC found the endorsement claim to be factually correct. The CCC discussed that although the claim is supported by the IMA’s endorsement, the way it is visually and textually presented separately in the advertisement is likely to mislead consumers. Based on these observations, the CCC concluded that the claims, “Only Mosquito Killer Brand” (on a standalone basis), and “Only Mosquito Killer Brand” read with “Recommended by Indian Medical Association”, contravened Chapter I, Clause 1.4 of the ASCI Code. This complaint was UPHELD. The CCC noted that the advertiser has modified the said advertisement.