German personal care brand Sebamed’s dig at HUL’s Dove, Lux and Rin backfires as the company plans to take suitable legal action

• The ad war between Sebamed and Dove intensifies as HUL plans to take suitable legal action against the former.
• Sebamed released a print ad and digital commercials taking a direct dig at HUL’s Dove.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) said in a media interview that the company will take a ‘suitable action’ against rival Sebamed’s print ads that targeted its soap brands.

The German personal care brand Sebamed claimed that its cleansing bar is better than soaps like Dove, Rin, Pears and Lux that its competitor Hindustan Unilever offers.


Sebamed also released a video campaign titled ‘Doodh Jaise Safed Soap Ka Sach’ that directly mentioned its competitors and claimed that its cleansing bar has a Ph level of 5.5, lower than that of HUL's Dove (7) and Lux (10). It also intended to urge its customers to make informed choices and listen to science.

Creative partner, The Womb said, “The Personal care industry has always been conditioned to follow standard beauty practices in order to make it appealing to the consumers. However, when we came across Sebamed and what the brand wanted to convey to its consumers, we decided to communicate the product truth through our campaign, without any silver coating. Striking the right balance between the bandwagon fallacy and authenticity, the brand is building a connection with its consumers through demonstration-based advertising with an honest approach.”

Speaking on the campaign, Konark Gaur, India Head of Marketing for Sebamed said, “Consumers today are re-evaluating their brand choices and are looking for brands that deliver on their promise. Sebamed, a brand that stands for honesty & authenticity wants to empower the consumers with the right information so that they can choose the best. We believe that product is always the hero and days of gimmicky advertising are counted.”

HUL also responded with a print ad today and is now planning to take this matter to court.

The ad war soon caught everyone's attention on Twitter. Here is how brand and advertising experts responded: