Persil advert banned for misleading green claims

Unilever’s advert for one in all its laundry detergents, Persil, has been banned for being misleading about its environmental advantages.

The tv advert stated Persil was “kinder to our planet”, and featured kids choosing up litter on a seashore.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) stated the advert’s declare was unsubstantiated.

Unilever, which owns manufacturers together with Hellmann’s and Dove, stated it’s “disappointed” with the consequence.

It follows a crackdown by the ASA on “greenwashing” – claims made by companies branding merchandise as eco-friendly, green or sustainable.

In the banned tv advert, seashores are proven filled with litter after which kids are proven choosing up the garbage.

A voiceover stated: “For real change we all need to roll up our sleeves and get dirty”.

Text on the display screen stating that the product “removes stains at 30C” is proven, with the Persil bottle, which the advert states is made with 50% recycled plastic.

“Tough on stains and kinder to our planet,” the voiceover provides.

A viewer complained to the watchdog that Persil’s claims of being “kinder” to the planet had been unsubstantiated.

The regulator upheld the criticism and stated that the claims may solely be justified if the product offers an environmental profit over different related merchandise.

“Although we acknowledged Persil were undertaking actions to reduce the environmental impact of their products, we had not seen evidence or analysis to demonstrate the overall environmental impact of the featured liquid detergents over their full-life cycles, compared with Persil’s own previous products or other products, in support of the claim ‘kinder to our planet’”, the ASA stated.

Unilever countered that the advert confirmed how its liquid detergent was “kinder” to the planet as a result of it saved vitality by cleansing in quick washes and at decrease temperatures. It additionally stated it was “kinder” as a result of the product used recycled plastic.

A spokesperson for Unilever advised the BBC that’s was “disappointed” with the ASA’s consequence.

“We are committed to making on-going improvements to all our products to make them more sustainable and will continue to look at how we can share this with our shoppers”, Unilever stated.

The ASA banned the advert as a result of it concluded that the idea of the declare “kinder to our planet” had not been made clear.

The regulator additionally stated the advert featured “various strands of messaging” about Persil’s wider environmental initiatives together with encouraging folks to “personally take action to care for the environment”, and exhibiting kids gathering plastic litter.

“In the context of the entire ad with several messages relating to environmental issues, we considered the meaning and basis of the claim “kinder to our planet” was unclear,” the ASA stated.

“Additionally, in the absence of evidence demonstrating that the full-life cycle of the product had a lesser environmental impact compared to a previous formulation, we concluded the ad was likely to mislead,” a spokesperson from the ASA added.