HUL, RB drag Patanjali in trouble as soap ad hits out at Pears, Lux, Dettol

Mumbai: Patanjali’s not-so-subtle nature of campaigning recently came under attack from consumer goods giants Reckitt Benckiser (RB) and Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL).

According to a report in Business Standard, RB, sought and secured an “ad interim injunction” against Patanjali’s soap commercials for denigrating its brand Dettol, which is a household name among Indian consumers.

“The advertisement, while talking about Patanjali’s ayurvedic product, was deprecating RB’s Dettol soap,” RB said in a statement, reported the Quartz.

This incident took place just days after HUL sought a similar injunction against the Rs 1000 crore auyrveda FMCG brand for disparaging its products Lux, Pears and Lifebuoy.

HUL currently owns a giant share of India’s bathroom soap market.

The Patanjali soap commercial aggressively campaigned against these brands claiming they are full of chemicals. Hitting out at Lux, it said, “Filmstars ke chemical bhare sabun na lagao" (Don’t use the chemical-loaded soaps filmstars use). Criticising Pears, it made a hostile pun saying, “'Tears’ badhaye fears" (Tears increases fears).

Patanjali has evolved from a brand offering Ayurvedic medicines to one that houses every possible thing one uses in their daily lives. Its range of herbal products at affordable prices, has reportedly disrupted the FMCG market by shooting ahead of big players like HUL, RB, Colgate, etc.