ASCI demands L’Oreal withdraw or modify Garnier "Micellar Cleansing Water" advert

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Dec 21, 2018

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has demanded that L’Oreal either withdraw or modify its current advert for Garnier’s "Micellar Cleansing Water" as it finds the advert’s claims to be unsubstantiated.

Calling the current Garnier commercial by L’Oreal “misleading”, the ASCI has validated a complaint made by the Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC), based in Ahmedabad. The complaint stated that the advert made claims that have not been sufficiently proven and is therefore misleading consumers.

The advert, which features the Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt, claims that the product, "Micellar Cleansing Water", can remove make up in “just one swipe”. However, according to a statement made by the ASCI, the advert’s creator, L’Oreal India Private Limited, has no evidence to suggest that its claims are true and no evidence to suggest that Bhatt conducted due diligence before agreeing to the endorsement.

L’Oreal stated that its claim of removing makeup in “just one swipe”, as Bhatt states in the advert, was taken from an independent study. However, the sample size of the study was only 20 people and only included foundation, and not lipstick and kajal as shown in the advert. The advert also failed to state the percentage of test subjects who agreed with the advert’s claims.

Stating that the advert is likely to lead to widespread disappointment, L’Oreal must either modify it or withdraw it. The case raises the issue of celebrity endorsements, now a huge industry in India, especially in the fashion and beauty sectors. Endorsements rely on consumer trust and aspiration but failure to conduct due diligence before endorsements has become a growing problem.