Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has withdrawn an advertising campaign for its leading soap brand Lux following allegations that it had indulged in unfair trade practices.
A complaint was registered by Mumbai Grahak Panchayat with the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission stating that the advertisement offering gold coins misled the consumers.
The ad campaign claims that 9,000 gold coins have been inserted in packets of 14,000 tonnes of soap manufactured between October 5, 2009 and January 20.
However, HUL in its reply to the commission disclosed that these special soaps were manufactured at its Himachal Pradesh and Goa offices before November 22.
In their reply last week, HUL has apologised and has said that the ads have been replaced with regular ads without any special offers. "Changes have been made to the advertising campaign keeping the consumer interest in mind," the reply states.
Under the Consumer Protection Act, the Commission is empowered to restrain companies from adopting unfair trade practices so as to protect consumers.