We’d like to officially welcome our friends in the marketing profession to Regret the Error. We’ve even created a new category for you. So, please, come on in and continue to make corrections to product packaging and marketing materials when you make false claims. And be sure to thank the folks at Listerine for helping you join the fray. Here’s the headline that attracted out attention: "Listerine Swallows $2 Million Correction To Bottles." And here’s part of the the Associated Press story that followed it:
The maker of Listerine mouthwash will spend $2 million to replace what
a judge called misleading advertising suggesting the product is as
effective as flossing at fighting plaque and gingivitis.
About 4,000 workers will be deployed around the country to place
stickers over the claim on Listerine bottles and to remove similar
advertisements that hang on bottlenecks, a lawyer for Pfizer told a
federal judge Monday. Television, print and medical-journal ads using the campaign are also
being pulled, and the as-effective-as-floss campaign has also been
removed from the Listerine Web site, lawyer Tom Smart said.
