Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) on Monday issued a show cause notice to S.C. Johnson and Son Pakistan Limited for prima facie violations of section 10 of the Competition Act, 2010 that deals with deceptive marketing practices.
A statement of CCP said the show cause notice asks S.C. Johnson and Son Pakistan Limited to reply in writing within 14 days of the date of the show cause notice and to appear and avail the opportunity of hearing before CCP on November 14, 2011 and explain as to why an appropriate order or penalty, for the said violations, are not imposed on the undertaking. The show cause notice has been issued to the company for making a claim in their advertisements of “Baygon” being No. 1 in Pakistan without any reasonable basis and disseminating misleading and false information to the consumers which is capable of harming the business interest of competing undertakings. Reckitt Benckiser Pakistan Limited filed a complaint with CCP alleging that Johnson and Son Pakistan Limited has recently launched a marketing campaign through print and electronic media all across Pakistan for “Baygon” and claiming their brand to be “No. 1 in Pakistan” which is false, deceptive and misleading. It was also alleged that the claim in the marketing campaign lacks a reasonable basis, related to character, suitability for use, or quality of goods in violation of Section 10 of the Competition Act, 2010 and is capable of harming the business interest of the complainant.
CCP conducted an enquiry and based on the findings of the enquiry report, it has been stated in the show cause notice that on the basis of the AC Neilson retail audit survey, the product of Reckitt Benckiser Pakistan Limited under their brand Mortein has an overall market value share of 39.7 per cent in Pakistan while SC Johnson and Son Pakistan Limited’s products under the brand Baygon has an overall market value share of 5.7 per cent in the country.
It was stated in the show cause notice that prima facie, the overall impression of the advertisement of the S.C. Johnson and Son Pakistan Limited is that Baygon has been awarded the Brand of the Year 2010 Award for the entire range of its products and on the basis of this award Baygon is No. 1 in Pakistan for the entire range of its products and is best to fight dengue. When the overall net impression of the advertisement is taken into account and interpreted with the certificate of the brand of the year 2010 provided by the undertaking, it appears that the advertisement pertains to all the products of the undertaking under their brand ‘Baygon’, whereas the award certificate only grants recognition to the aerosol products. When the dengue fever is on the rise amongst the general public and is increasingly becoming an epidemic in Pakistan, the marketing campaign advertisement of the undertaking has the tendency to mislead the consumers.
