Judge Orders P&G to Revise Promo Materials for Prilosec
A federal judge in New York City last month ordered Procter & Gamble to halt ads for its new over-the-counter heartburn medicine, saying the slogan used to launch the product was “false.” The order came after a complaint was filed by competitors.
The new product, Prilosec, hit store shelves Sept. 15. At issue was the slogan, “One pill, 24 hours, Zero heartburn.” On Sept. 15, the judge did not dispute that relief lasted 24 hours but that the slogan suggested that the consumer would begin to feel better right away. He found the claim to be “literally false.” The judge required that the ads in promotional materials be revised to read “One pill a day, 24 hours, Zero heartburn.”
Procter & Gamble said it was “disappointed by this ruling” and has filed an appeal.
“We’re waiting to hear on the appeal,” said Kurt Weingand of P&G Health Sciences Institute.
On Sept. 19, Judge John Sprizzo in the U.S. District Court ruled in favor of a complaint filed by P&G competitors Johnson & Johnson and Merck & Co., which make Pepsid, a competitive heartburn medication sold over the counter.
“Prilosec is off to the strongest start of any new P&G brand ever, and we’ve begun to draw some fire from our competitors in this product category,” P&G said in a statement.
P&G said it would continue to ship Prilosec to retail and that availability to customers would not be interrupted.
