NAD at Odds with Coty over Nail Polish Claims

The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus has recommended that Coty Inc., discontinue certain advertising claims for its Sally Hansen Complete Manicure nail polish. NAD found, however, that the advertiser could support the claim “All 5 Steps of a Salon Manicure in 1 Bottle.”

NAD, the advertising industry’s self-regulatory forum, examined print, point-of-purchase, and internet advertising following a challenge by OPI Products Inc., a competing nail polish manufacturer.

The claims at issue included:

• “9 out of 10 Salon professionals preferred our formula to the leading salon brand.”
• “All 5 Steps of a Salon Manicure in 1 Bottle”

NAD also examined the implied claim that the Sally Hansen product line is actually available in and used by a significant number of salon professionals in a salon setting.

In support of its “9 Out Of 10 Salon Professionals Preferred Our Formula To The Leading Salon Brand,” claim the advertiser submitted a study of the preferences between Complete and OPI mauve and red nail polishes among twenty-five salon professionals.

NAD was troubled by the fact that the study compared the advertiser’s nail polish—which has base, color and top coats all in one bottle—to the challenger’s professional polish, colored enamel that is intended for salon use with separate applications of a base and top coat.

NAD has previously found, across all product categories, that performance studies are fatally flawed if products are not tested according to usage instructions. Although OPI nail polish for professional use does not have instructions on the bottle, no argument was made to contradict the basic premise that salon manicures include base and top coats. Indeed, the challenged advertising itself defines a salon manicure as including base and top coats.

Further, NAD was concerned that the sample size—25 people—was too small to support the claim and recommended that the advertiser discontinue the claim “9 Out Of 10 Salon Professionals Preferred Our Formula To The Leading Salon Brand.”

NAD determined that at least one interpretation of the “9 out of 10” preference claim is that Sally Hansen Complete nail polish is actually available in, preferred by and used by a significant number of salon professionals in a salon setting.

NAD determined that the advertiser did not have sufficient evidence to support the implied claim, but noted that the matter was moot, given that NAD had recommended the advertiser discontinue the underlying preference claim.

NAD found the claim “manicure in a bottle” to be fanciful and determined that advertiser’s product ingredient list provided a reasonable basis for its claim “All 5 Steps of a Manicure in 1 Bottle.”

Coty, in its advertiser’s statement, said the company does not agree with NAD “that the preference test methodology was flawed.”

“Especially disappointing was the assertion that OPI nail color is intended to be used only in salons with a base and top coat for purposes of comparison with the Complete Product. Indeed, OPI’s own heavily promoted nationwide distribution [in the mass market]…demonstrates that every single unit is sold without any instruction to use with base and top coat,” the company said.

However, the company said, “Coty will nonetheless abide by this suggestion in deference to NAD and the self regulatory process as future advertising is developed. Coty likewise intends to take NAD’s comments and critiques of the summary of its second preference study (which did not serve as the basis for the preference claim at issue) into account as new advertising for the Sally Hansen Complete product is created.”