P&G ASA complaint ad

The advertising watchdog has rapped Procter & Gamble for claims made in a campaign for its Always Discreet incontinence pads, following complaints logged by rival brand Tena Lady. 

TV and online advertising for Always Discreet, first shown in November 2014, has been banned by the ASA for being misleading and containing unsubstantiated claims. 

The ASA upheld two of five complaints made by Tena Lady producer SCA Hygiene in relation to the online and TV advertising, which included an ‘up to 40% thinner than the leading brand’ statement. 

The ASA ruled the advertising must not appear again in its current form, and told P&G to ensure future ads held sufficient evidence to substantiate the claims consumers would understand as objective, and to ensure any comparative claims with identifiable competitors were verifiable.

P&G said it believed consumers would be able to identify which Always and Tena products were equivalent because manufacturers had in practice developed their own standard to help consumers choose within the range of products available.