It's a different kind of a`Co(a) l-gate' that is playing out in the advertising world. Colgate-Palmolive's (India) Facebook post on `Colgate Total Charcoal Deep Clean', its latest toothpaste offering featuring Lara Dutta, has received a lot of flak from social media users on its claim that charcoal, which is present in the toothpaste as micro particles, has extraordinary cleaning properties.
This contradicts the multinational's earlier claim that abrasive products can spoil tooth enamel. In the late '70s and early '80s, when Colgate was trying to convert charcoal users to tooth powder, it had launched a commercial that hogged prime time space on Doordarshan. In the ad, when a bodybuilder asks his sister-in-law, understandably in a village, to bring him some “doodh-badam“ (almond in milk) and “koyla“ (charcoal), she immediately retorts: “ Arre wah devarji, badan ke liye doodh-badaam, aur daaton ke liye koyla? (Wow! a health drink for the body but charcoal for the teeth?)“. A voice-over then prods viewers to use Colgate tooth powder because “khurdare padaarth“ (abrasive substances) can spoil enamel -the outermost covering of the teeth.
Colgate's new toothpaste advertisement claims it has the power of charcoal (“kehte hair charcoal ghazab ki safai kar sakta hai ...“).
Colgate has been found wanting in its response to comments on its post.
In response to a comment by a Facebook user (“Once upon a time your company was against this ... just see your company ad 20 years back ... please don't cheat ...“), the company replied, “While the commercial is not available for reference, you are probably referring to an old Colgate Toothpowder commercial which highlighted the harmful effect of direct application of coarse materials on the enamel of teeth.“ It asks the user to be rest assured about the product.
Another user said, “We in India have been using charcoal and neem since ages. But it was Colgate who came and told to use paste instead of neem and charcoal to keep teeth and mouth clean ...“
In response to a query by TOI, a Colgate-Palmolive (India) spokesperson said: “The new (said) product comes with superior anti-germ technology containing ultra micro-charcoal particles that help prevent germ build-up on mouth surfaces viz. teeth, gums, cheeks and tongue. We would like to assure you that Colgate has been consistent in its efforts to introduce innovations that combine modern technology and design with traditional practices, long held habits and local preferences towards contributing to a good oral hygiene experience.“
