Comparative advertising: Unilever strikes back against Albert Heijn?
(31 oktober 2008)
Mr. Gino S.C.M. van Roeyen, advocaat sectie IE/IT (g.vanroeyen@banning.nl), is vaste medewerker van Class46 (www.class46.blogspot.com), een blog waarop door een aantal merkenrechtspecialisten Europees merkennieuws wordt gepubliceerd en becommentarieerd. Onderstaande posting van Gino werd gepubliceerd op 18 oktober 2008
Early morning today because I will be at the opening of the Dutch Design Week in
Eindhoven in a few hours (openings by Mr. R.H.A. Plasterk, Minister of
Education, Culture and Science, and by Alessi), but I could not resist this
posting. Reading yesterday's NRC - an evening paper - I just spotted three big
adds from Unilever that beg attention. Unilever seems to be annoyed by Albert
Heijn's - aka AH - comparative activities with regard to private label products
and certain Unilever brands, in particular Calvé Pindakaas (peanut butter), Sun
dishwasher tablets and Robijn fabric softener. I made some bad pictures of the
adds which I attach to this posting. I hope they are clear enough to see what's
happening. The add starts with the sentence on top: 'Ah, we gaan vergelijken'
(ah, we are going to compare), in which the 'Ah' is clearly referring to AH, and
right below the products are mapped.
The
texts Unilever uses reads as follows (own translation): 'Of course there are
more peanut cheese brands, but there is only one Calvé. And honestly it's
incomparable. Because in Calvé you taste more peanuts. Besides that Calvé
contains no added sugars, it's full with food building materials and rich with
vitamin E. Furthermore independent taste tests shows that Calvé really tastes
better. That's why Calvé is the Dutch favourite for already 60 years! Calvé
peanut cheese, contains more than you think!'; 'Compare? Of course, we
compare each day. Our Sun dishwasher tablets are tested continuously by several
independent testing institutions. Of course on the most difficult stains, like
egg, tea and rice. And guess what? Sun All in 1 Extra Power shows the best
results, time after time, for your dishes too. And so Sun is the best cleaning
tablet in the Netherlands. Logical, because we have a complete team of experts
working for us, that are working each day on the improvement of the tablets. Of
course we find it a good thing that there is an alternative. But better? That's
a challenge that we dare. Sun, the dishwashing expert.'; 'Of course you
can compare fabric softeners. Yes, please. Because if you compare you will find
out yourself that Robijn is the first fabric softener in the Netherlands that
contains microcapsules. Because these special capsules are activated with each
movement, you do not only smell it when you open the washing machine, but your
clothing remains fresher for a longer time. Of course we find it a good thing
that there is an alternative. But better? That's a challenge that we dare.
Robijn, the most loved fabric softener in the
Netherlands.'
Curious what Albert Heijn will do next week. The
adds of course might give rise to some legal questions with regard to trade mark
use in comparative advertising.
Voor meer informatie: Mr. Gino van Roeyen (g.vanroeyen@banning.nl), advocaat sectie IE/IT BANNING N.V.
Bron: Class46 (www.class46.blogspot.com)
Advocaten:
» mr. G.S.C.M. (Gino) van Roeyen