DT News - UK - Media authorities ban misleading mouthwash advertisement

Dental Tribune International

Tue. 28 May 2013

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LONDON – Last week, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the independent regulator for advertising in the UK, banned a radio advertisement for Listerine Total Care, a mouthwash by personal and oral care product manufacturer Johnson & Johnson. The organisation said the claims raised in the advertisement were misleading and unsubstantiated according to the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising.

In particular, the ASA complained that the claim of “brushing alone isn’t enough” in the advertisement would lead consumers to believe that it is generally accepted within the dental community that brushing alone is not sufficient to maintain oral health and that a mouthwash should be used as well.

Johnson & Johnson cited ten studies demonstrating the benefits of mouthwash use to support the claim. A survey from 2009, for instance, found a high incidence of plaque accumulation, among other oral health issues, even though 75 per cent of the study population brushed their teeth at least twice a day. Another long-term study demonstrated that Listerine reduced plaque bacteria more efficiently than brushing alone. In addition, the company said that the commercial radio advertising clearance body had been satisfied with the substantiation submitted prior to broadcasting.

However, the company did not provide evidence that it is generally accepted among dental professionals that the use of mouthwash is essential to maintaining good oral health, the ASA argued. “We therefore concluded that the claim was misleading and had not been substantiated,” the organisation stated.

Johnson & Johnson has to refrain from broadcasting the advertisement in its current form in the future.

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