Hindustan Unilever is the biggest FMCG / CPG company in India. Some of their products are good but most are average when it comes to quality (my perception). Still, they are the market leaders because of aggressive marketing and distribution.
Recently the managed to put me off with an advertisement of Pepsodent Expert Protection Toothpaste. They use a time tested active – Triclosan – in that paste with some other ingredients and claim its action is as good as brushing, flossing & rinsing. Having worked on an oral care brand for two years now, I know its a sacrilege to claim that on a paste! And they don’t stop at that. They tone of voice towards the consumer is a major put down (to a point that it is disgusting).
They have been very aggressive with claims in advertisements for a long time now. An old HUL employee who worked on their detergent business told how they manipulated claims of removing stains. To give an idea of the kind of wrong claims and bad advertising (includes all vehicles – media, promotions, packaging etc.,) they make, here is a (quick cursory) compilation of 6 years ASCI complaints against their ads.
Before looking at this data, I was thinking that I will find complaints mostly related to Detergents & Shampoos. What surprised me was the number of complaints in Water Purifiers & Soaps. Most of these complaints are on false claims.
Anyways, I was put off with the Pepsodent Expert Protection toothpaste ad and decided to boycott all products of HUL. But a status check first. How many personal care products of HUL are at home?
Hmm… about 19% of personal care products at home are of HUL. And most of them are cosmetics used by Wifey and only 2 products were in the Detergent / DishWashing space. Now, the target is to get rid of these products in the next 2 months. Good riddance HUL!!!
