34.6 Ethics Case

The Colgate-Palmolive Co. (Colgate)

manufactured and sold a shaving cream called Rapid Shave.

Colgate hired Ted Bates & Company (Bates), an advertising agency, to prepare television commercials designed to show that Rapid Shave could shave the toughest beards. With Colgate's consent, Bates prepared a television commercial that included the sandpaper test. The announcer informed the au-dience, "To prove Rapid Shave's super-moisturizing power, we put it right from the can onto this tough, dry sandpaper. And off in a stroke."

While the announcer was speaking, Rapid Shave was applied to a substance that appeared to be sandpaper, and immediately a razor was shown shaving the substance clean.

Evidence showed that the substance resembling sandpaper was in fact a simulated prop, or "mock-up," made of Plexiglas to which sand had been glued. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a complaint against Colgate and Bates, alleging a violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. Have the defendants acted ethically in this case? Have the defendants engaged in false and deceptive ad-vertising, in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act? Federal Trade Commission v. Colgate-Palmolive Company, 380. U.S.

374, 85 S.Ct. 1035, 13 L.Ed.2d 904, Web 1965 U.S. Lexis

2300 (Supreme Court of the United States)