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NAD says B+L solution package makes no 'comparative performance claims'
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Following a challenge from Alcon, the National Advertising Division determined that “compare to” statements made by Bausch + Lomb and Wal-Mart on packaging for Equate contact lens products are not comparative performance claims requiring substantiation, according to the Advertising Self-Regulatory Council.
Alcon Laboratories Inc. took issue with packaging for Equate MPS and Equate Moisture Last containing statements to compare the products to Opti-Free Replenish and Opti-Free Pure Moist, which are Alcon products, the Advertising Self-Regulatory Council (ASRC) said in a press release.
Alcon also noted in its complaint that the Equate packaging was recently changed to blue and green, the same colors used on Alcon’s product packaging, and that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. displays the products in close proximity to Alcon’s Opti-Free products.
Equate private-label multipurpose contact lens solutions are manufactured by Bausch + Lomb but sold under Wal-Mart’s Equate brand name, the ASRC reported in the press release.
Alcon complained that “the ‘compare to’ statement does not merely invite consumers to compare the Equate product to the named brand-name product,” the ASRC stated. “Instead, the ‘compare to’ statement reasonably conveys the unsupported message that the Equate products are equivalent to the Alcon products in terms of formulation and efficacy.”
According to the release, the National Advertising Division (NAD) determined that the language “invited consumers to try Equate value products and compare them with brand-name counterparts.”
NAD also found that a claim referring to 16+ hours of moisture on the Equate Moisture Last package reasonably conveyed the message that the product provides 16 or more hours of comfort. However, the “NAD recommended that the advertisers modify the product packaging to ensure that the claims ‘Retains moisture for comfort from insertion to removal’ and ‘16+ hours of moisture’ do not appear in close proximity to each other, and that future advertising avoid conveying the unsupported message that Equate Moisture Last provides 16+ hours of comfort.”
In a statement provided to Primary Care Optometry News, Alcon said it is disappointed in the decision.
“We are disappointed that the NAD did not acknowledge that certain claims and other language on the advertisers’ packaging are misleading to consumers and should be discontinued,” Alcon’s statement read. “Despite this disagreement, Alcon accepts the decision of the NAD.”
Alcon noted that no private label products, including Equate, contain the same ingredients as Alcon’s Opti-Free brand of multipurpose solutions.
Bausch + Lomb also provided a statement to PCON: “Bausch +Lomb, in partnership with Wal-Mart, appreciates the NAD’s careful and thorough review of this matter. The company is pleased with the NAD’s finding that the ‘compare to’ labels do not constitute comparative performance or parity claims and that the ‘16+ hours of moisture’ claim is fully supported by Bausch + Lomb’s laboratory studies.” – by Nancy Hemphill, ELS, FAAO