INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - NOVEMBER 16^th - NOVEMBER 30^th - 2007

COURT BANS GODREJ AD BELITTLING SANTOOR

Soaps to software giant Wipro got a breather, with a Hyderabad Court restraining Godrej from advertising its soap Godrej No 1. Wipro Consumer Care had filed a petition in a civil court in Hyderabad, challenging an advertisement by Godrej on the grounds that it was 'unfair, unethical, incorrect, misleading'. The ad had directly compared Godrej No 1 to Santoor soap (from Wipro's stable). The court accepted Wipro's plea and has passed an interim injunction order, restraining Godrej from advertising their product in "any manner disparaging, denigrating and defaming the petitioner's product Santoor either directly or indirectly including analysis, comparisons, etc". Santoor is Andhra Pradesh's largest soap brand with 25% market share. Officials of Godrej were unavailable for comment.