S.C. Johnson Challenges Clorox "Green Works"

Recent report by the National Advertising Division of the BBB went after Clorox for its "Green Works" product line, below is the official ruling.

NAD (National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureaus) EXAMINES CLAIMS FOR CLOROX "GREEN WORKS".

NAD found that Clorox can support certain claims for "Green Works" product line, but they also recommended that the advertiser modify and discontinue certain claims.

Bureaus recommended that The Clorox Company discontinue or modify certain advertising
claims for their "Green Works" product line to better communicate product performance and that the products are not disinfectants.
Print advertising, product labels, website advertising, displays, in-store coupons and television
advertising claims made by Clorox for Green Works household cleaning products, were challenged by S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., a manufacturer of the Fantastik line of competing cleaners.
The challenged claims included the following:
• "Green Works cleaning products work just as well as traditional cleaners…"
• "Green Works All-Purpose Cleaner cuts through this greasy mess as well as the leading spray
cleaner… "
• Green Works cleaning products "work as well as conventional cleaners…"The Green Works line consists of five different cleaning products, each of which competes in a
different sub-category of household products: the all-purpose cleaners, general bathroom cleaners, toilet bowl cleaners, dilutable cleaners and glass and surface cleaners. According to the advertiser, the Green Works line has been formulated to be environmentally friendly without sacrificing the cleansing efficacy of traditional cleaners.
NAD, the advertising industry’s self-regulatory forum, determined that based on the testing it
submitted, Clorox provided a reasonable basis for claiming that its Green Works line of products is comparable to traditional cleaning products when it comes to removal of most soils for which the products are intended.
However, NAD found that the broad and unqualified parity claim that Green Works "works as well" (or “cleans as well”) as traditional cleaners could not be supported because Green Works does not perform as well as all cleaners on the toughest grease and does not kill germs as many traditional cleaners do.
NAD recommended that the claim be discontinued or modified to convey the more qualified message that it removes most soils or cleans most soils as well as traditional cleaners.
NAD also recommended that the advertiser modify or discontinue the side-by-side grease
demonstration featured in challenged television advertising to avoid conveying the message that
Green Works performs as well as leading competitors on tough grease soils.
Clorox, in its advertiser’s statement, said the company “strongly disagrees with NAD's finding” that the claim that "Green Works works/cleans as well as traditional cleaners" conveys an implied message that Green Works All Purpose Cleaner disinfects.
Interesting don't you think...