ISLAMABAD: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has imposed a Rs10 million penalty on 3M Pakistan Pvt Ltd for deceptive marketing through a false or misleading comparison of its Scotch-Brite product with Colgate-Palmolive Pakistan Ltd’s Max Scrub.
The marketing was in violation of Section 10 of the Competition Act 2010, and the proceedings originated from a complaint filed by Colgate-Palmolive Pakistan Ltd, alleging that during a marketing campaign for Scotch-Brite, a video showed a comparison in which, after washing Scotch-Brite and Max Scrub for 20 minutes, Max Scrub was shown to have deteriorated significantly while Scotch-Brite remained in comparatively better condition.
Following an enquiry, CCP issued a show-cause notice to 3M Pakistan. The company challenged the video’s authenticity and reliability and maintained that an employee carried out the demonstration in his personal capacity without company authorisation.
The CCP, however, found that Muhammad Imran, then Regional Sales Manager of 3M Pakistan, had acknowledged before the inquiry committee that he made the comparison. As the demonstration was closely connected with his official duties and occurred in the context of a marketing campaign commissioned by 3M Pakistan, the CCP held that his conduct was attributable to the company.
The commission held that a comparison of competing products made without a reasonable basis or recognisable substantiation may constitute false or misleading advertising. The order found that 3M Pakistan failed to substantiate the comparison.
It also considered a third-party laboratory report submitted by the complainant, which concluded after testing that the two products were of similar quality, and 3M Pakistan did not rebut it during the proceedings.
The CCP imposed a penalty of Rs10m on 3M Pakistan for violation of Section 10(1) read with Section 10(2)(c) for false or misleading comparison of goods in the process of advertising.
Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2026
