New York, NY – January 7, 2020 – The National Advertising Division determined that Kimberly-Clark Corporation’s “better leakage protection* *Size 1 urine leakage” claim for its Huggies Little Snugglers diapers conveys a “line claim” in certain identified social media advertising.  Further, NAD determined that this broad line claim was not supported and recommended that the disclosure be modified to clearly and conspicuously limit the claim to “Size 1 urine leakage.”  The claim at issue was challenged by The Procter & Gamble Company, maker of competing Pampers Swaddlers Diapers.

NAD is an investigative unit of the advertising industry’s system of self-regulation and is a division of the BBB NP’s self-regulatory and dispute resolution programs.

The challenger argued that K-C’s claim, “Huggies Little Snugglers offer better leakage protection vs. Pampers Swaddlers*” conveys the broad message that all of Huggies Little Snugglers diapers provide better leakage protection than all Pampers Swaddlers diapers for all types of diaper leakage (i.e. bowel movement and urine leakage).  K-C countered that its claim was clearly limited to Size 1 infants through use of the “*Size 1 urine leakage” disclosure and, to the extent that the claim could be interpreted as applying to other infant sizes, product data and bench testing showed that its consumer testing on Size 1 diapers can be extrapolated to other infant sizes.

With regard to whether a line claim was conveyed by the challenged advertising, NAD determined that the content of the disclosure, “*Size 1 urine leakage” uses language consumers can understand and could limit a claim if consumers noticed and read it in conjunction with a broader triggering claim.  However, in all of the challenged iterations, NAD found that the disclosure was not clear and conspicuous and that the claim could reasonably be interpreted by consumers to convey a broad claim about superior leakage protection for the Huggies Little Snugglers brand over Pampers Swaddlers. NAD noted that consumers may not only understand the claim to apply to sizes other than Size 1, but also to bowel movement leakage in addition to urine leakage – an issue that is also paramount to parents of infants.  NAD further determined that the imagery used in the advertising does not effectively limit the advertisements’ message to “Size 1.” 

NAD considered whether the advertiser’s evidence demonstrates that the results of its home use test results on Size 1 diapers can be extrapolated to also show leakage protection superiority over Pampers Swaddlers in Size N and Size 2.  NAD noted that the Size 1 home use test was not provided as evidence, as its results were not in dispute.  However, without that study in the record, NAD could not reliably determine if the results can be used to support claims for other sizes.  Further, NAD noted that the advertiser’s product specifications and lab testing do not directly relate to the claim that Huggies Little Snugglers diapers have superior leakage protection across all infant sizes (or all sizes).  The absorbency data recorded in the advertiser’s specifications and bench testing are different from the data necessary to support a “leakage protection” claim.  Therefore, NAD determined that the advertiser’s claim “better leakage protection* *Size 1 urine leakage” was not substantiated for sizes other than Size 1, and recommended that the superior leakage protection claim be modified to limit it to Size 1 urine leakage.

Thus, NAD determined that the advertiser’s “better leakage protection* *Size 1 urine leakage” claim conveyed a broader line claim in certain identified social media advertising. That broad line claim was not supported and, accordingly, NAD recommended the superior leakage protection claim be modified to clearly and conspicuously limit it to “Size 1 urine leakage.”

In its advertiser’s statement, Kimberly-Clark stated that it “will comply with the NAD’s recommendation to modify the disclaimer at issue so that it is more clear and conspicuous.”

About the National Advertising Division (NAD): NAD provides independent self-regulation overseeing the truthfulness of advertising across the U.S. NAD reviews national advertising in all media and its decisions set consistent standards for truth and accuracy.

About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs (BBB NP) fosters trust, innovation, and competition in the marketplace through the development and delivery of cost-effective, third-party self-regulation, dispute resolution and other programs. The programs were formerly administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus. BBB NP is the home of industry self-regulatory and dispute resolution programs that include the National Advertising Division (NAD), National Advertising Review Board (NARB), BBB EU Privacy Shield, BBB AUTO LINE, Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU), Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI), Children’s Confection Advertising Initiative (CCAI), Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council (DSSRC), Digital Advertising Accountability Program (Accountability Program), and the Coalition for Better Advertising Dispute Resolution Program (CBA DRM). The programs are designed to resolve business issues and advance shared objectives by responding to marketplace concerns to create a better customer experience. To learn more about industry self-regulation, please visit: BBBNP.org.