Delhi High Court stops Ad ‘disparaging’ Reckitt’s Harpic brand
, ET Bureau|
Updated: Nov 02, 2017, 12.32 AM IST
NEW DELHI: Reckitt Benckiser received an injunction in its favour from the Delhi High Court, which stopped Mumbai-based Jyothy Laboratories from airing a commercial for its T-Shine toilet cleaner that allegedly disparaged the British company’s Harpic brand.
“They were comparing their product with a hydrochloric-based toilet cleaner showing a blue bottle,” said a person with knowledge of the matter. The bottle, the person said, looked similar to that of Harpic. On Tuesday, the court heard both parties and issued an interim injunction, asking Jyothy not to air the television ad until the next date of hearing, the person said.
“The Hon’ble Delhi High Court prima facie found the advertisement disparaging and has injuncted Jyothy from airing the advertisement in any manner, in any language and in any media,” a Reckitt spokesperson said in an email, responding to ET’s questions.
Jyothy Laboratories did not respond until press time Wednesday to an email seeking comment. Reckitt has also been fighting another similar case in recent months. In September, it filed a case in the Delhi High Court against Harpic brand and the court ordered Baba Ramdev’s company to stop airing a commercial that mocked Reckitt’s Dettol brand.
The Patanjali ad had showed a soap that looked similar in shape, size and colour to the Reckitt product and it was referred to as Dettol in the ad that was initially uploaded on YouTube and was later aired on TV.
Reckitt has been leveraging its sanitation brands Dettol and Harpic aggressively under its ‘Dettol Harpic Banega Swachh India’ campaign. Both brands have gained incrementally from the campaign.
Recently Reckitt announced construction of over 25,000 toilets and a plan to reach out to more than 20,000 villages. To push its brands through their Rs 100-crore ‘Swachh’ campaign, the company has rolled out entry-level packs of both Harpic and Dettol.
“They were comparing their product with a hydrochloric-based toilet cleaner showing a blue bottle,” said a person with knowledge of the matter. The bottle, the person said, looked similar to that of Harpic. On Tuesday, the court heard both parties and issued an interim injunction, asking Jyothy not to air the television ad until the next date of hearing, the person said.
“The Hon’ble Delhi High Court prima facie found the advertisement disparaging and has injuncted Jyothy from airing the advertisement in any manner, in any language and in any media,” a Reckitt spokesperson said in an email, responding to ET’s questions.
Jyothy Laboratories did not respond until press time Wednesday to an email seeking comment. Reckitt has also been fighting another similar case in recent months. In September, it filed a case in the Delhi High Court against Harpic brand and the court ordered Baba Ramdev’s company to stop airing a commercial that mocked Reckitt’s Dettol brand.
The Patanjali ad had showed a soap that looked similar in shape, size and colour to the Reckitt product and it was referred to as Dettol in the ad that was initially uploaded on YouTube and was later aired on TV.
Reckitt has been leveraging its sanitation brands Dettol and Harpic aggressively under its ‘Dettol Harpic Banega Swachh India’ campaign. Both brands have gained incrementally from the campaign.
Recently Reckitt announced construction of over 25,000 toilets and a plan to reach out to more than 20,000 villages. To push its brands through their Rs 100-crore ‘Swachh’ campaign, the company has rolled out entry-level packs of both Harpic and Dettol.
