National Advertising Division Reviews Vacation Inc.’s Claims on Sunscreen

In a challenge brought by Beiersdorf, Inc., BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division recommended that Vacation, Inc.’s “World’s Best-Smelling Sunscreen” claim should be modified.

During the proceeding, Vacation voluntarily modified the claim.

Beiersdorf and Vacation sell competing sunscreen products. Beiersdorf argued Vacation cannot support its “World’s Best-Smelling Sunscreen” claim, while Vacation argued that the claim is “puffery.”

The claim appears on product labels, in retail signage, social media and Vacation’s website.

 NAD reached a different conclusion with respect to the website claim. The claim appears in quotation marks and is displayed immediately above five stars, with “4.8/5.0” and “13,457 Reviews” below.

NAD determined that, in this context, consumers may take away the message that the claim is “more than puffery” and relies on reviews as substantiation for a claim of preference.

Therefore, NAD recommended that Vacation modify its advertising to avoid conveying the message that the “World’s Best-Smelling Sunscreen” is substantiated by the reviews.

All BBB National Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case decision library. For the full text of NAD, NARB and CARU decisions, subscribe to the online archive.

The BBB National Programs National Advertising Division Annual Conference will be held Sept. 28-29 at The Conrad New York Downtown in New York City, as reported in Happi.