CCA's Plus+White Shades Whiter Stain Remover Claims Rejected By NAD

CCA Industries' claim that its Plus+White Shades Whiter dentifrice has "unique dual action" stain removal polishers lacks adequate substantiation and "should be discontinued," according to the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus in a case report issued Sept. 10.

NAD also found CCA's claim Plus+White Plus Peroxide is "a truly superior toothpaste" unacceptable for use in advertising and promotions. CCA had argued "as long as there [was] no comparison being either stated or implied, [this claim] is merely acceptable puffing." NAD, however, concluded that the claim is "clearly an express superiority claim; the fact that the object of the new comparison is not clearly stated is an issue of concern in and of itself."

The review group also took issue with CCA's claim that "Plus+White Plus Peroxide works to whiten teeth like no other toothpaste." The advertiser argued "no two toothpastes work in the same manner," NAD's report states.

According to the report, CCA asserted that "since its product's formulation is different from all others, in that it contains two abrasive elements [hydrated silica and dicalcium phosphate] as well as hydrogen peroxide, it is different than other similarly situated products and that difference provides a reasonable basis for this express claim."

NAD countered that the claim is "not a compositional claim or even a mechanism of action claim although the advertiser perhaps intended it as such." The claim in question "expressly attempts to distinguish this product on the basis of its ability to (work to) whiten teeth," NAD said.

As such, the group said the claim "could reasonably be interpreted by consumers to refer to a certain level of performance," and therefore the advertiser bears the responsibility to substantiate those claims. "Since the record did not contain substantive evidence that the product in question does, in fact, 'work to whiten teeth like no other,' NAD concluded the claim must be modified or discontinued," the case report states.

In fact, given the entire scope of CCA's response to the case, NAD said it has "serious concerns about the truthfulness and accuracy of these claims, and, therefore, considered the advertiser's representation that it will voluntarily reassess and modify these claims to be appropriate and necessary action." NAD said it told CCA to "act expeditiously and responsibly" in implementing its promises.

Den-Mat, which markets Rembrandt whitening dentifrices, brought the case to NAD's attention. Den-Mat charged that CCA had simply repackaged and re-named Plus+White Plus Peroxide as "new" Shades Whiter Bleaching Gel. Den-Mat claims its Dazzling White toothpaste, which uses 10% carbamide peroxide as a bleaching agent, is the "only bleaching gel and toothpaste in one."

In fact, citing data from Information Resources, Inc. (Chicago), Den-Mat said CCA has been "selling this exact toothpaste since June 1995" under the name Plus+White Plus Peroxide. The challenger relied on an item-by-item comparison of the ingredient lists of the two products to show they were identical, NAD's report notes.

Den-Mat also alleged CCA is perpetuating fraud by boosting the price of the identically formulated but newly renamed products from about $6 for a 3.5 oz. tube of Plus Peroxide to $10 per tube for a set of four 1 oz. tubes of Shades Whiter.

CCA's references to "shades whiter" and "five shades whiter" also drew Den-Mat's objections, particularly because they were based on tests conducted on cow teeth and are not provided in the context of a scale understandable to consumers, according to the challenger.

Claims that Plus+White Plus Peroxide will help users "achieve a sparkling maximum white smile in just one week," as well as claims of the "highest level of whiteness" were challenged by Den-Mat as "absolute, unqualified and false."

CCA responded that it does have scientifically acceptable substantiation for its "new level of whitening" claim. In in vitro testing, Plus+White at 100 strokes "was more effective than Rembrandt at removing stained pellicle," CCA said. The amount of stain removed at 200 strokes "was about the same," the firm said. At 400 strokes, Rembrandt only removed the comparable stain levels of Plus+White at 200 strokes, according to CCA.