what safeguard should do - get an AdBoard CDO!

this is the first of 2 ads that appeared in the Philippine Star today. it was placed on page 4 and on the opposite page 5, they had this print ad which was about the same size as the first one. they are teaser ads for the launch of new toilet soap.

notes: (a) click the images to view bigger size to read the copy; (b) these are actual ads that were scanned and the scanner picks up the imperfections of the printing of the ad, including "ghost images" of what's printed at the back of the ads and folds and creases on the print ad.

this is the 2nd ad:

can't wait for the intro and brandsell ad campaign for this new brand. these ads seem to indicate a very aggressive push to take market leadership from safeguard.

it looks like the new toilet soap will take head on safeguard's brand positioning and brand equity, superior anti-germs/bacteria. this new product will most likely cast doubt on safeguard's "health" positioning by saying or at least strongly implying constant use of safeguard causes damage to the skin which is "dry skin", which based on the ad and according to a TNS Research conducted in march 2008 said "dry skin is the most common skin problem experienced by mothers and their families".

that is the core brand equity of safeguard soap. and it will now be under attack!

if i was on the safeguard ad agency account team, tomorrow at 8:00 in the morning, i will be at the AdBoard's offices and will file a complaint asking for a CDO (cease and desist order) action against the first print ad. and i would ask for an immediate cease and desist action on that ad. i will make it my singular mission to disallow the printing of this ad again in philippine newspapers.

there are several provisions in the AdBoard code of ethics that can be used as basis for the CDO. one of this is "disparagement". this ad very aggressively have said "triclosan" and "triclocarban", safeguard's two germicidal ingredients are "harmful chemicals"! whoa! these two ingredients in safeguard are what make safeguard what it is. without these two ingredients, there will be no safeguard.

i would not discuss this further as the safeguard soap account team will need to do their job on this one. but let me say there are a lot more in that print ad that safeguard should question and ask the adboard to have them removed from the ad and future ads of this yet to be launched brand. i think the ad has over-reached itself and have said many things that they cannot defend and will definitely lose on. many of these things are, among other things, definitely disparaging to safeguard. and disparaging in a very major way.

it's a very aggressive and competitive print ad. among many copy lines in the ad, i particularly like the last paragraph, no. 4 on the ad, "Avoid the use of germicidal soaps. Check the active ingredients in your soaps and ensure that they don't contain chemicals like Triclosan or Triclocarban". they are saying stop using safeguard!

i like competitive ads. but this particular ad i find very irresponsible and very unprofessional. but they are very strong points that can harm safeguard's brand image, reputation and market share.

if i was safeguard, i would take this new brand beyond the AdBoard, i would take them to the philippine courts! i will immediately file a case with the AdBoard, literally at 8:00 am when it opens. and i will go to the philippine courts and get a TRO (temporary restraining order) to prevent the ad agency of this new brand from publishing this ad.

that's how serious i think is the threat of this print ad to safeguard's business and how wrong the print ad is.