Bombay High Court restrains WhatsApp ad that showed Asian Paints losing stain test
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has temporarily restrained the circulation of a social media advertisement that allegedly disparaged a product of Asian Paints, the country's biggest paints maker by both sales and market capitalization.
Mumbai-based Asian Paints approached the court against Namgial Enterprise and has also named Kolkata-based Berger Paints India as a respondent in the case, along with Meta Platforms, the owner of WhatsApp LLC.
The dispute centres on a 102-second audio-visual clip titled 'Drishyam Series - Episode 1', which compares Asian Paints' 'Apcolite Shyne All Protek' emulsion with a rival product, Berger Easy Clean paint.
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"Having regard to the clandestine manner in which the impugned advertisements are being circulated through WhatsApp groups and social media platforms, I am satisfied that giving notice to the Defendants before passing this order would defeat the very purpose of granting ad-interim reliefs," observed Justice Arif Doctor in his order of May 8. The court will hear the matter further on June 22.
Before the court's order, Hiren Kamod, counsel appearing for Asian Paints, argued that the impugned advertisement is only being circulated or uploaded on WhatsApp and Instagram and not in mainstream media channels.
The company argued that the advertisement depicts a stain-resistance test in which the rival product is shown outperforming the Asian Paints offering, accompanied by statements suggesting that 'competition paint' merely claims stain resistance but is actually 'just washable'.
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The visual comparison, combined with narrative cues and dramatic elements, was found to convey a direct message undermining the plaintiff's product.
Asian Paints also argued that though defendant no 3 (Berger Paints) does not appear to be circulating the impugned advertisement on its official social media accounts, there is a strong apprehension that defendants nos 1 (Namgial Enterprise), 2 (iloveshc, a social media account) and 4 (Ashok Kumar, an unknown person) are circulating the same at the behest of Berger since it is a direct competitor of the petitioner and nobody other than that is likely to benefit from making and circulating the advertisement.
Mumbai-based Asian Paints approached the court against Namgial Enterprise and has also named Kolkata-based Berger Paints India as a respondent in the case, along with Meta Platforms, the owner of WhatsApp LLC.
The dispute centres on a 102-second audio-visual clip titled 'Drishyam Series - Episode 1', which compares Asian Paints' 'Apcolite Shyne All Protek' emulsion with a rival product, Berger Easy Clean paint.
Also Read: India underperforms Asian rivals amid earnings and valuation strain
"Having regard to the clandestine manner in which the impugned advertisements are being circulated through WhatsApp groups and social media platforms, I am satisfied that giving notice to the Defendants before passing this order would defeat the very purpose of granting ad-interim reliefs," observed Justice Arif Doctor in his order of May 8. The court will hear the matter further on June 22.
Before the court's order, Hiren Kamod, counsel appearing for Asian Paints, argued that the impugned advertisement is only being circulated or uploaded on WhatsApp and Instagram and not in mainstream media channels.
The company argued that the advertisement depicts a stain-resistance test in which the rival product is shown outperforming the Asian Paints offering, accompanied by statements suggesting that 'competition paint' merely claims stain resistance but is actually 'just washable'.
Also Read: For Asian Paints, green is not just a colour, but a worthful way of life
The visual comparison, combined with narrative cues and dramatic elements, was found to convey a direct message undermining the plaintiff's product.
Asian Paints also argued that though defendant no 3 (Berger Paints) does not appear to be circulating the impugned advertisement on its official social media accounts, there is a strong apprehension that defendants nos 1 (Namgial Enterprise), 2 (iloveshc, a social media account) and 4 (Ashok Kumar, an unknown person) are circulating the same at the behest of Berger since it is a direct competitor of the petitioner and nobody other than that is likely to benefit from making and circulating the advertisement.
