The Shanghai Higher People's Court yesterday heard an appeal lodged by Procter & Gamble (China) Co Ltd and its distributor over an advertisement dispute with its competitor Guangzhou Colgate-Palmolive Co Ltd.

P&G and Guangzhou Haolin Trade Co Ltd asked the court to annul the verdict issued by the Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court and reject the lawsuit filed by Colgate.

The intermediate court last December ordered P&G and Haolin to pay 150,000 yuan (US$18,072) and 250,000 yuan, respectively, to Colgate for unfair competition. They were also asked to make a public apology in the media.

The dispute stems from ads for Crest tooth whitening paste, which appeared on the Website of P&G and were distributed as pamphlets by Haolin.

The ads boasted that Crest tooth whitening paste was three times more effective than liquid products of the same type because the liquid stays only a very short time on the teeth and is washed down by saliva quickly. But Crest paste stays on the teeth for 30 minutes.

Colgate believed the liquid products in the ads referred to its Colgate liquid because it is the only tooth whitening liquid in the Chinese mainland market.

P&G and Haolin denied the charges. P&G cited research results published in an American magazine to prove that its claim is supported by scientific research. It said the research compared three tooth whitening products in the market and Crest could improve the effect by 40 percent.

P&G remained optimistic about yesterday's appeal, saying it had offered a number of new scientific studies to support its ad, according to a statement released by the company.

(Shanghai Daily July 21, 2005)