ASA bans Arm and Hammer sensitive teeth ad

by Staff, Campaign 27-Aug-08, 00:05

LONDON - The Advertising Standards Authority today banned a toothpaste ad featuring the children's TV presenter Katy Hill, which made medicinal claims without authorisation.

The ad, for Arm and Hammer Enamel Care Sensitive toothpaste, claimed that the product would cure sensitive teeth.

The TV commercial, which was created by Media Therapy, showed Hill claiming: "If you've got sensitive teeth like me, this is real important news. No more grief, a major breakthrough, a toothpaste that will not just mask the problem but fix it."

Rival toothpaste producer GlaxoSmithKline challenged the ad, saying that medicinal claims should not be made without a marketing authorisation from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

The ASA agreed, and said the ad should not be rebroadcast without the relevant authorisation.

Clearcast said it had vetted the copy for the ad carefully at the production stage, in conjunction with its consultant dentist, and said it believed the claims were reasonable without MHRA authorisation.

Comments

C. Clarke - 01/02/2009

I use this toothpaste, and have done for almost a year now. The reason? It works. It IS the only toothpaste that does exactly what it says on the tin, and if you google reviews for this product, you will find this is an opinion widely shared by folks like me with sensitive teeth (it is actually the only toothpaste worth reviewing!). I agree it perhaps should be clinically proven first; whether or not the science of it is strictly true I'd be interested to know, but the fact is it DOES cure sensitivity. I've tried every sensitive toothpaste out there and can honestly say, this is the only one worth spending any money on. Sensodyne is clearly the biggest con out there. Don't be fooled - this is the real deal. Note 01/2/08: This toothpaste used to be imported from the US. It seems they're now manufacturing it in the UK also, but read the small print. The UK variety doesn't seem to work so well - I'm only buying the ones that say "Made in the US." on the back. It's a very minor packaging detail, but this is an expensive toothpaste, and definitely worth it if it's from the right batch.