P&G files contempt of court case against HUL for Rin ad

The Rin-Tide face-off enters its next edition. This time, P&G has filed a petition for contempt of court against HUL in Kolkata High Court on the latest Rin commercial. P&G’s contention is that the latest Rin commercial showcases several similar elements from the previous commercial where Rin openly took on Tide. The petition filed last week will come up for hearing this week at the Kolkata High Court.

‘Rin safedi ki challenge’ is the latest commercial, with Rs 1 crore as prize money. The prize money is up for grabs, if anyone can prove that any other detergent provides better whiteness than Rin, the commercial announces.

However this time, the brand name of the rival detergent brand has been masked unlike the last time, where Tide was clearly shown as the competing brand against Rin. However, the commercial shows the same models from the previous ad, thus providing the necessary cue to the previous commercial, which P&G has taken umbrage to and has therefore approached the court.

“Yes, we have filed a petition for contempt of court against HUL based on their new Rin commercial showcasing several similar elements as aired in their earlier disparaging advertisement which was ordered to be taken off air by the Kolkata HC in an ad interim proceedings. We cannot comment further on this at this stage as the matter is sub judice,” a P&G spokesperson confirmed to ET.

In March this year, HUL launched its first ever combative advertising with Rin openly taking on rival P&G’s Tide. The airing of the commercial was strategically timed during a long weekend break thus giving HUL ample time for the Rin ad to register. Eventually, P&G got an order passed from the Kolkata HC asking HUL to take the TVC off air. When contacted by ET on P&G’s petition against the Rin ad, an HUL spokesperson said: “We respect the court order and we are in full compliance of the same. As the matter is sub judice, we cannot comment on this.”

The Rs 4,500-crore detergents market has seen HUL acquiring an aggressive stance vis-a-vis competition. And it’s not reflecting just in above the line communications but even on the ground when it comes to pricing.

Even as P&G increased the grammage of its brand Tide Naturals, a few months back, HUL cut prices of Rin bar.