NAD Finds Church & Dwight Can Support Performance Claims for OxiClean White Revive, But Recommends Advertiser Modify Certain Claims, Disclosures

New York, NY – Oct. 29, 2014 – The National Advertising Division has determined that Church & Dwight Co., Inc., maker of  OxiClean White Revive Laundry Stain Remover, can support performance claims challenged by The Clorox Company, the maker of competing laundry products.  However, NAD recommended that Church & Dwight modify disclosures to better inform consumers that the promised whitening performance requires a six-hour pre-soak in the OxiClean WR product.

NAD is an investigative unit of the advertising industry’s system of self-regulation. It is administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus.

Clorox challenged express claims that included:

• “It works on whites and colors and gets out messy stains without the fear of chlorine spills.”
• “Whiter Whites without the damage of chlorine bleach.”
• “More of the wow.  None of the worry.  Get whiter whites, without the worry of chlorine damage.”
• “Get Whiter Whites, without the harsh smell or the worry of damaging effects of chlorine.”
• “Gets the tough stains out!  Maintains and revives whites to help keep them looking like new longer!  Keeps colors bright!  All this…WITHOUT CHLORINE DAMAGE.”
• “One three pound tub of OxiClean White Revive equals 2.8 bottles of chlorine bleach.”

Also at issue was the implied claim that OxiClean WR provides whitening and stain removal benefits superior to all leading chlorine bleaches when used through-the-wash, that chlorine bleach products may damage clothes when used as directed or that OxiClean WR is a better value product than chlorine bleach.

The challenged were featured in television and website advertising and on product packaging.

Following its review of the evidence in the record, NAD determined that Church & Dwight could support certain claims for OxiClean WR, including: “It works on whites and colors and gets out messy stains,” “get whiter whites” and “Gets the tough stains out!  Maintains and revives whites to help keep them looking like new longer!”

NAD also determined that the advertiser’s testing provides a reasonable basis for the implied claim that OxiClean WR provides superior whitening and stain removal benefits than all leading chlorine bleaches.

However, to ensure that consumers understand the basis of the performance comparison, NAD recommended that the supers “after a 6 hour soak and wash” and “Wash as Directed” in the challenged commercial be modified in size and placement to make them easy for consumers to notice, read and understand.

NAD further recommended that advertiser modify the super “Washed as directed” that appears in connection with a split-screen comparison to state that the “wash” includes a five-minute pre-soak.

NAD determined that both the depiction of a chlorine bleach spill in the commercial and the references to OxiClean WR being a “worry-free chlorine bleach alternative” or substantially similar claims in connection with colored garments were supported and not falsely disparaging.

However, NAD recommended that the advertiser discontinue the claims “Whiter Whites without the damage of chlorine bleach,” “More of the wow.  None of the worry.  Get whiter whites, without the worry of chlorine damage,” “Get Whiter Whites, without the harsh smell of the worry of damaging effects of chlorine” and similar claims which appear in connection with whites because they convey the unsupported message that chlorine bleach will damage white fabrics.

Finally, NAD recommended that the advertiser revise the disclaimer qualifying the claim “One three pound tub of OxiClean White Revive equals 2.8 bottles of chlorine bleach” to indicate that it is for regular (and not large or heavily soiled) loads only.

Church & Dwight, in its advertiser’s statement, said the company believes the disclosures in its commercial were “fully adequate” and that its statement that consumer can use White Revive without the “worry of chlorine damage” was not misleading.

Nevertheless, the company said, “Church & Dwight remains committed to the self-regulatory process and will take NAD’s recommendations, including making the commercial’s product usage instructions more prominent, and the appropriate use of the ‘worry of chlorine damage’ and similar statements, into consideration in developing future advertising.”