A TV advert by Ariel made “unsubstantiated” claims and “unverifiable” comparisons to competitor brands, the ASA has ruled.
The advertisement for Ariel’s ‘The Big One’ laundry pods – seen on 24 April 2025 – featured a man looking confused while looking at a number of ‘laundry additives’ on sale in the supermarket.
A voiceover said: “Pre-treat, pre-soak, post-soak. When did getting your clothes clean become such hard work? All that scrubbing and lemons and those extra products, really?”
Ariel’s The Big One had “built-in pre-treat for double-stain and odour removal”, meaning “it’s just one and you’re done”, the voiceover claimed. Packaging for the product shown in the ad featured the text “2X Stain and Odour Removal”.
Meanwhile, on-screen text stated: “One Ariel The Big One has the same stain and odour removal power as two”.
A complainant challenged whether “just one and you’re done” was misleading, and whether the advert included a comparison with an identifiable competitor that was not verifiable.
Ariel owner Proctor & Gamble said the advert was meant to highlight the benefits of The Big One against Ariel 3 in 1 Pods. The ad was not intended to make comparative claims against rival brands, it insisted.
It said the product was tested on a variety of stains, with results showing a complete removal of approximately 89% of stains in the first wash.
TV advertising clearance body Clearcast said it did not believe the advert made a comparison with an identifiable competitor, and therefore the brand did not need to verify the effectiveness of its product versus competitors.
It said it believed Ariel had provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate the product was effective enough to only require the use of one pod per laundry load.
However, the ASA said consumers would perceive the ad as presenting The Big One as a “new, improved alternative compared to using a laundry detergent alongside any laundry additive found in supermarkets”.
This impression was reinforced by the claim “just one and you’re done”, it said, adding the watchdog “therefore expected to see objective evidence which substantiated that claim”.
As the advert did not “include, or direct a consumer to, sufficient information to allow them to understand” any comparison made with a competitor brand, it in breach of the BCAP code, it concluded.
“We told Procter & Gamble UK t/a Ariel not to imply their product was as effective at cleaning clothes as other products, or when used in combination with laundry additives, if they did not hold evidence to substantiate the claim,” the ASA said. “We also told them to ensure such claims were verifiable.”
The Grocer has approached Procter & Gamble for comment.
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