Colgate asked to drop whitening toothpaste claims

The National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus is recommending that Colgate-Palmolive discontinue certain marketing claims for its Optic White toothpaste, including "Same Whitening Ingredient as Strips."

The disputed phrase appeared in print and Internet advertising, in a television commercial, and on product packaging and in-store displays.

The claims at issue were challenged before NAD by Procter & Gamble (P&G), which makes Crest 3D Whitestrips.

NAD examined whether the advertising conveyed the implied messages that peroxide provides a significant whitening benefit that is comparable to Crest Whitestrips, that the peroxide in Optic White provides a whitening benefit that is meaningful to consumers, and that the product whitens intrinsic stains, provides comparable whitening efficacy to strips, and provides superior whitening to other toothpastes.

Following its review of the evidence in the record, which included the results of consumer-perception testing offered by P&G, NAD concluded that the advertiser's evidence was insufficiently reliable to support its claim and recommended that these marketing claims be discontinued.

NAD found that Colgate did provide adequate support basis for the claim that Optic White contains 1% hydrogen peroxide in a stable form and for a standalone claim that Optic White provides whiter teeth in one week or whiter teeth in one week as compared to a regular, nonwhitening fluoride toothpaste.

Colgate disagreed with some of NAD's findings, including concerns regarding the "literally truthful claim 'Same Whitening Ingredient as Strips.' " Colgate believes that this claim and similar ingredient claims have been prevalent in the whitening category for many years.