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Fairy Liquid

Turns out Fairy Liquid DOES last twice as long as its rivals

A complaint from its rival Persil ended with the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority led to the ruling.

IT TURNS OUT that Fairy Liquid really does last twice as long as rival brands – and that’s not just according to Proctor & Gamble.

That’s according to a ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority – and comes following a complaint by rival brand Persil.

Fairy Liquid ads have been saying since 1950 that the washing up liquid lasts twice as long as other washing up liquids.

A new complaint from rivals Persil saw the company complain to the UK’s ASA that the claim in the Fairy ad that it lasted ‘twice as long’ was “misleading and could not be substantiated”.

It also questioned ads which compared Fairy Liquid to an unknown rival brand, with Persil asking if the ads represented a fair comparison.

They said that they believed the ads were misleading because they omitted material information such as the concentration of the liquid and the size and price of the bottle. Its three complaints were not upheld.

The result

The ASA investigated the TV ad, magazine ad and a digital poster, after which it said the campaign was not misleading.

It also stated that the size of the Fairy 433ml bottle on show was actually smaller than the two 500ml rival brands on show.

The ASA noted the ads “showed images of the advertised product beside an equals sign and two unbranded bottles of washing-up liquid”.

The ads also made clear that Fairy lasted twice as long as the next best-selling brand and that the next best-selling brand was based on AC Nielsen volume share data, which we understood identified that brand as Persil.

It considered consumers “would understand from the shape and comparative size of the bottles that the images were of the 433 ml Fairy bottles and two 500 ml Persil bottles”.

“In that context, we considered consumers would interpret the ads to mean that a standard 433 ml bottle of Fairy lasted as long as two standard 500 ml bottles of Persil when used in conditions representative of everyday use.”

The ASA also sought expert advice on the robustness of the evidence provided by Procter & Gamble, and the expert “considered the test reflected the practices of consumers and demonstrated that Fairy lasted at least twice as long as Persil”.

It considered that the claims that Fairy lasted twice as long as the next best-selling brand had been substantiated on this basis.

Brands

The ASA said that the ads also made clear that the next best-selling brand was based on AC Nielsen volume share data, which we understood identified that brand as Persil, and considered that customers would understand the comparison was between the two products.

It considered the images made clear that a standard 433 ml bottle of Fairy lasted as long as two standard 500 ml bottles of Persil.

It also considered that information about the concentration of the liquid and the size and price of the bottle “was not material information in relation to ads that made clear that the basis of the comparison was the mileage of the products”.

It concluded the ads were not in breach.

Read: Iceland forced to withdraw ad that claimed Irish food authority was “unaccredited”>

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20 Comments
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    Mute Dublinjonny
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    Sep 18th 2013, 4:27 PM

    Ive been waiting for 31 years to make a spaceship out of a fairy bottle …. its still half full ….

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    Mute Tony Slap
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    Sep 18th 2013, 7:07 PM

    Excellent.

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    Mute John McDonnell
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    Sep 18th 2013, 9:24 PM

    Will it be as big as a statue or closer in size to a kettle like?

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    Mute fionn bohane
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    Feb 25th 2014, 6:00 PM

    Haha

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    Mute alwaysrightokay
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    Sep 18th 2013, 4:27 PM

    Lasts even longer if you have a dishwasher

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    Mute Little Jim
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    Sep 18th 2013, 4:17 PM

    I always suspected that this was true.
    Now l know.
    This will change everything.

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    Mute Susie Hemsworth
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    Sep 18th 2013, 3:46 PM

    Just goes to show, check your facts and don’t make assumptions before accusing, It can backfire.

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    Mute Jazz O'Gorman
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    Sep 18th 2013, 4:20 PM

    Absolutely no doubt about it, Fairy leaves the competition a mile behind.

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    Mute Jane Travers
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    Sep 18th 2013, 4:35 PM

    “Now hands that do dishes can feel soft as your face” – that’s the next claim I’d like to see substantiated. Any takers? ;)

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    Mute On Raglan Road
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    Sep 18th 2013, 4:53 PM

    Jane. What way does the music go? No, let me guess,is it….. la la lalalala lalala lalala with lala fairy liquid

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    Mute Jane Travers
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    Sep 18th 2013, 4:57 PM

    You missed a “la”.

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    Mute Little Jim
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    Sep 18th 2013, 6:03 PM

    I like Hans, nice guy.

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    Mute Barbara Edwards
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    Sep 18th 2013, 6:25 PM

    I flippin sang that as I read it lol

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    Mute Vincent Bickerstaffe
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    Sep 18th 2013, 3:36 PM

    Fairy liquid just sounds wrong…

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    Mute Neil Richardson
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    Sep 18th 2013, 4:16 PM

    The Streisand Effect in full force.

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    Mute Catherine Sims
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    Sep 18th 2013, 5:12 PM

    Another one of life’s burning questions answered.

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    Mute Vanessa Kennedy
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    Sep 18th 2013, 7:36 PM

    I hardly ever buy Fairy

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    Mute Donna McCabe
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    Sep 18th 2013, 5:54 PM

    Knew it was tru !! ;-)

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    Mute Suzanne Smith
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    Sep 18th 2013, 5:30 PM

    But the bubbles disappear really quickly.. :-(

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    Mute Jen
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    Sep 19th 2013, 12:21 AM

    It’s also top at bio stains and a mortisizer!

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