Unilever has lost its bid to continue using the slogan “10X cavity fighting” in advertising its Pepsodent toothpaste after a Kenyan court upheld a regulatory order declaring the claim misleading. The ruling brings to a close a two year legal dispute with rival Colgate-Palmolive, escalating competition in the oral care market where both firms have intensified marketing to protect market share.
The High Court dismissed Unilever’s appeal against a decision by the Standards Appeals Council (SAC), which had directed the company to discontinue the slogan across all Kenyan advertisements. The court’s decision effectively affirms the authority of advertising self-regulatory bodies and reinforces restrictions on unsubstantiated comparative marketing claims.
The dispute began in June 2023 when Colgate lodged a complaint with the Advertising Standards Committee (ASC), arguing that Pepsodent’s “10X cavity fighting” promise breached the Code of Advertising Practice and Direct Marketing. The complaint alleged multiple violations, including unsubstantiated claims, misleading representations, lack of honesty, and unlawful comparative advertising.
Unilever, which markets Pepsodent and Close-Up toothpaste brands, rejected the allegations, maintaining that internal research supported the claim and that the advertisements complied with regulatory standards. After reviewing expert testimony from both sides, the ASC ruled in June 2024 that the slogan was not adequately substantiated and ordered its removal from all media platforms.
The company appealed the decision to the SAC, which dismissed the challenge in March 2025. Unilever then escalated the matter to court, arguing that its withdrawal from the Marketing Society of Kenya (MSK) during the proceedings stripped the council of jurisdiction, since the advertising code primarily binds MSK members. Implementation of the SAC order had been temporarily suspended by mutual consent on May 20, 2025, pending the court’s ruling.
The court rejected Unilever’s jurisdictional argument, holding that once a regulatory body validly assumes authority over a dispute, that authority remains until the matter is concluded. The judgment warned that allowing parties to exit regulatory processes mid-case would undermine self-regulation and create harmful precedents. It noted that Unilever was an MSK member when the complaint was filed and actively participated in the hearings, making the process lawful and binding.
On procedural grounds, the court found no evidence of unfairness, concluding that both parties had been given sufficient opportunity to present their cases. The court declined to re-examine the scientific merits of the “10X” claim, focusing instead on whether regulators acted within their mandate and followed due process.
With regulators having determined that the claim was misleading and unsubstantiated, the court found no legal basis to overturn the ruling. Unilever was ordered to pay costs to Colgate, and the SAC directive remains in force, permanently barring the use of the “10X cavity fighting” slogan in Pepsodent advertising in Kenya.
The decision underscores growing scrutiny of marketing claims in fast-moving consumer goods and signals tougher enforcement standards as multinationals battle for consumer trust in competitive markets.
