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Toothbrush, paint, AC, plywood can all ‘protect’ against Covid. If you believe these ads

Many brands are selling their products on a pitch meant to tap into fears triggered by the pandemic, with some directly offering 'protection' against coronavirus. 

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New Delhi: As a sleepy man begins to brush his teeth, a voice screams from the background, “TAXI”. The incredulous man looks behind to find the source of the voice and finds someone seated in his bathroom — essayed by Ayushmann Khurana, the character then explains why he shouted “taxi”. Toothbrushes serve as a “taxi for germs” and so, Khurana tells the other man, he would be well-advised to use one from Colgate, which guards users against this threat.

In another television commercial, Kareena Kapoor Khan is seen walking around a house, talking about the many roles she plays in life — is she a “superstar or loving wife?” or “a caring mom or diva?”

She then says to the camera, “If I can be both, why can’t my house?” 

And what lends her house this versatility? It’s Berger Paints, which, the ad tells us, not only make the house glamorous but also protect it from bacteria, viruses and pollutants. That’s not it, the audience is informed that the paint’s antibacterial properties come with certification from the Indian Medical Association (IMA), the professional organisation that represents the country’s doctors. 

Meanwhile, in the world of plywood TVCs, a husband is shown bringing his pregnant wife home to show her their newly-built furniture. The woman spots a crib among the new items and, excited, extends her hand to touch it. But a cloud comes over her face and she pulls her hand back, hesitant to touch it. Obviously, she’s worried about the potential germs on the surface.

Her husband, however, assures her: It’s safe, he says. The furniture is made from Century Play and Laminates, and it’s equipped with a technology that kills viruses upon contact. The ad concludes with a picture of domestic bliss as the couple hugs. 

Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, many brands have advertised their products on a pitch meant to tap into people’s fears about the coronavirus. In March this year, a furniture maker was booked for claiming to sell a mattress that promised to protect customers against coronavirus. 

Similar claims with respect to other products — including bread and apparel — have also come under the scanner since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

While some brands have gone all-out to claim protection against coronavirus, others have garbed their promises in more generic terms like germs and viruses. 

Bluestar for one has released a filter system that boasts of “virus deactivation technology” with an explicit claim of “99 per cent efficacy” against coronavirus. Berger, too, offers the same level of protection against surface contamination by coronavirus. 

But is there any truth to their claims? The brands making these claims say their statements are backed by research but many experts are wary, as are some consumers. 

The Advertisement Standards Council of India (ASCI), the self-regulatory agency for India’s ad sector, is playing sentinel, acting against misleading ads, but claims there is nothing wrong with pitches that invoke Covid promises as long as brands deliver on them.


Also Read: 87% Indians find disclaimers in ads difficult to read, view or hear, survey finds


Claims made

On its website, CenturyPly claims to have tapped nanotechnology to come up with a solution that offers protection against viruses. Its Virokill technology kills 99.9 per cent of the viruses that land on the surface of the plywood, the company says, while listing the tests it has undergone. However, the firm clarifies that, in the absence of a specific test, “CenturyLaminates & CenturyPly is not in a position to claim that it can be used as a form of any protection against Covid-19”.

Nerolac, which claims to have made India’s first anti-viral paint, makes no specific claims about Covid-19 either.

While Berger Paints doesn’t claim protection from Covid-19 in its TV ad, it does so on its website. 

“The paint, formulated with Nano-Silver technology, is effective against 99% of Covid virus within 30 minutes of exposure on the painted surface,” it says, adding that “the same” has been tested by a national institute under the Indian government. 

Meanwhile, the virus deactivation technology cited by Bluestar seeks to neutralise the threat of Covid transmission through centralised AC systems as well as individual machines. The company claims to have devised a filter that can be fitted into ducts or ACs to kill coronavirus in the air that passes through. 

“When the cooled air passes through this special filter, viruses including the novel coronavirus and harmful bacteria are effectively neutralised, ensuring that the air passing into the cooled space is safe to breathe and does not spread infections like Covid-19, TB, chickenpox, or even the common cold and influenza, etc,” it writes on its website, citing a study by German researchers to establish the efficacy of the underlying tech.

However, the company clarified in a press note that “the product is not a substitute to the mandatory precautions prescribed by the government such as wearing masks, social distancing, usage of hand sanitisers and surface hygiene practices”.

The brands named in this report are just examples of the trend and this is by no means an exhaustive list.

ThePrint reached Century Ply via their support page, Bluestar by email, and Nerolac and Colgate India through Twitter for comment on this report, but was yet to get a response by the time of publishing. 

Berger said all the claims it has made, including on coronavirus, have been certified by recognised laboratories”. Speaking to ThePrint, Berger Paints India General Manager (Marketing) Sudhir Nair said “tests have shown that the paint is 99 per cent+ effective against SARS-CoV-2 when it comes in contact with the painted surface within 30 minutes and the efficacy lasts over multiple contacts”. Nair said the technology and the composition that provide this benefit “is confidential”. 


Also Read: Durex says stay inside, Nike says just do it — Admakers are the new bards of Covid lockdown


Much scepticism

Dr Suranjit Chatterjee, internal medicine expert at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals in New Delhi, said he is doubtful about the scientific validity of the claims made by different companies, and termed them “baseless” unless they can be verified with evidence-based research, open to critical review.

“Even medical science hasn’t been able to make such breakthroughs, we’re all struggling to find a treatment for this virus. They (the brands) should make their studies public and at least theoretically back what they’re saying,” he said. 

Consumers like Seema Thukral, a teacher in Noida, also look at these ads with a certain degree of scepticism. “I don’t think an AC or a wall paint can protect me from a virus, that simply looks misleading… I don’t trust anyone or anything other than the government guidelines when it comes to Covid protection.”

However, Harshil Bhardwaj,  a creative at a leading ad agency in Mumbai, said the claims of most companies “have a truth to them”. 

“Most of the products refrain from saying they offer you protection from Covid, but from germs, and these claims do have a truth to them. This truth will either be a category truth or a product truth,” he said. 

“For example, soaps and sanitisers can be sold as virus protection because it’s a category truth, all soaps do offer a degree of protection against germs. Or there’ll be a product truth, one feature of your product will help you fight germs in some way or the other, that feature will then be used as the product’s USP and the ad will revolve around that selling point.” 


Also Read: No touching, no actors – how advertising is changing in the time of isolation


‘Consumers looking for a way out of fear’

Products can’t claim to offer protection against the novel coronavirus without scientific research to back their claims. Those who have, have run into trouble. 

When Patanjali advertised its Coronil as a cure for Covid but failed to provide sufficient research to back the claim, it was barred from selling the product as such. It is currently being advertised as a solution for cough, fever and to boost immunity, and has emerged as a big hit in the market. 

But Patanjali’s case is unique, in that it offered an ayurveda product and its claims led the AYUSH Ministry, which oversees matters pertaining to traditional systems of medicine, to intervene. Similar regulatory oversight may not be available for other products, Giridhar R. Babu, professor and head of lifecourse epidemiology at the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), suggested. 

“The thing is, consumers are looking for a way out of this fear, which most of these products offer. Some of these products aren’t even drugs or medicines to fall under the purview of the Drugs Controller General of India, so the question is, who is regulating these ads?” he said. “Brands should provide randomised and controlled trials for peer review so their claims can be critically evaluated.”

A few of the brands that have claimed certification from the IMA for their products have drawn the body’s ire.

Dr Ravi Asokan, Honorary Secretary General of the IMA, said it had served a notice on two brands — Berger Paints as well as Dettol, famous for its antiseptic, germ-fighting offerings — for citing certification from the body. 

He said Dettol’s response to the IMA is pending, adding that he would look into Berger’s continued use of the claim in its ad. When ThePrint reached Dettol through email for a response, the company said that “following extensive third-party laboratory testing, specific Dettol family of brands products have demonstrated effectiveness (>99.9% inactivation) against 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), SARS-CoV-2 when used in accordance with the directions for use”.

“To get more details about tests, please visit www.dettol.co.in,” it added.

The IMA has been very cautious about giving out certificates amid the pandemic, and has rejected requests of 23 certifications till now, he added. “We have not certified any virucidal product this year. Moreover, we normally certify the process & technology, not the product,” he added.

ASCI General Secretary Manisha Kapoor said whenever the body finds an ad “prima facie misleading”, the advertiser is asked for substantiation immediately. 

According to an October press release, upon the request of the AYUSH Ministry, the ASCI has flagged more than 250 ads for dubious claims since April. Of these, the ASCI said, 162 have either been withdrawn or modified. 

Kapoor said brands aren’t barred from making such claims, but just expected to back them up.

“In a pandemic, consumers look for brands, products and services to help them cope with the new circumstances they face in their daily lives. All of us have started using a few new products, or we use existing products in new ways. Brands certainly want to place themselves as being more relevant in this situation,” she added.

“So long as they deliver what they promise, these could be useful to consumers who are looking for added safety in their homes and spaces, and for themselves and their loved ones.”


Also Read: From remote shoots to topical plots, how advertising races to stay relevant in the pandemic


 

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4 COMMENTS

  1. To the best of my knowledge, Shycocan is the only device tested in laboratories in the US and Mexico and permitted marketing by US-FDA to deactivate over 99% of viruses of the Corona family and thus effectively block the spread of Coronavirus in a room. It is only technologies backed scientifically that should be adopted. We have installed in our Sibia Medical Centre and made our clinic virtually corona free.

  2. We have a toothpaste, paint, fan, AC, plywood, toilet cleaner, vegetable washer that can kill 99.9% virus. However we don’t have a virus. Looks like all the R&D is happening in the wrong industry 🙂

  3. In our nation, anybody can project anything and mislead consuming public. Members of public are helpless. Govt machinery is inactive .
    Big Cos can get away with any claim . Laws are there, but no one bothers. Nowadays you can see ads and products not even showing the manufacturers
    name and address. It goes on money earns money people are inconsequential beings.Trust in God the Omnipotent

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