## Facts

- Coty, Inc. marketed Sally Hansen Complete Manicure nail polish through print, point-of-purchase, and internet advertising.
- O.P.I., Inc., a competing nail-care manufacturer, initiated a competitor challenge before the Better Business Bureau’s National Advertising Division (NAD).
- The challenged advertising featured two express claims and one implied message:
  - “9 out of 10 Salon professionals preferred our formula to the leading salon brand.”
  - “All 5 Steps of a Salon Manicure in 1 Bottle,” listing (1) base coat, (2) strengthener, (3) growth treatment, (4) color, and (5) top coat.
  - An implied message that Sally Hansen Complete Manicure was available in and being used by a significant number of salon professionals in salon settings.
- To support the “9 out of 10” preference claim, Coty submitted a preference study of 25 nail technicians located in eight U.S. cities.
- Study recruitment was limited to individuals purchasing nail products at a beauty supply store open to the public.
- OPI argued the study had methodological weaknesses for a strong quantified claim, including a small sample size and possible recruitment bias.
- OPI also argued that the “5 steps in 1 bottle” claim overstated what consumers would expect from discrete salon manicure steps, and contended the product did not contain a true growth-treatment ingredient.
- OPI stated its professional lacquer line was sold only in nail salons and asserted it was the leading salon brand with approximately a 50% market share; OPI contended Coty’s products were mass-market retail items and not sold in salons as the advertising suggested.
- NAD evaluated the advertising’s net impression and, without consumer perception survey evidence, assessed the messages reasonably conveyed to consumers.

## Issues

1. Whether Coty had adequate substantiation for the quantified claim that “9 out of 10 salon professionals” preferred Sally Hansen Complete Manicure to the “leading salon brand.”
2. Whether Coty had a reasonable basis for the claim “All 5 Steps of a Salon Manicure in 1 Bottle,” including the enumerated “growth treatment” benefit.
3. Whether the ads reasonably conveyed an implied claim of substantial salon availability and salon-professional use, and, if so, whether Coty substantiated that implied message.

## Decision

- NAD recommended Coty discontinue or materially change the “9 out of 10 salon professionals preferred” claim because the submitted study did not provide sufficiently reliable support for the strength and precision of a national quantified preference claim.
- NAD recommended Coty discontinue or modify the “All 5 Steps of a Salon Manicure in 1 Bottle” claim because the evidence did not adequately support that the product performs each listed salon step as consumers would understand them, including the claimed “growth treatment.”
- NAD found the advertising reasonably implied that the product was available in and used by a significant number of salon professionals in salons, and recommended Coty discontinue or revise that message because Coty did not provide support matching that implication.

## Legal Principles

- Advertisers must have a reasonable basis for objective product claims before disseminating them, and the support must match the claim’s scope and specificity.
- NAD evaluates both express and implied claims based on the advertisement’s net impression, including context, wording, and layout.
- Strong quantified preference claims (for example, “9 out of 10 professionals”) require methodologically sound evidence with an adequate sample and a design that fits what the claim communicates.
- When an advertiser defines the comparison benchmark in a way that assumes certain components or conditions (such as the components of a “salon manicure”), testing should reflect those conditions to support the comparative message.
- “All-in-one” claims that list multiple specific benefits require support for each stated benefit as consumers are likely to interpret it, not simply evidence that some ingredients overlap with treatment products.
- Implied claims about professional adoption, endorsement, or channel availability (such as salon usage) require substantiation when the overall presentation leads consumers to that conclusion.
- In the absence of reliable consumer perception evidence, NAD independently evaluates the messages reasonably conveyed to consumers.

## Conclusion

In NAD Case No. 5201 (2010), NAD reviewed Coty’s advertising for Sally Hansen Complete Manicure and concluded that the record did not adequately support the challenged claims as conveyed: the “9 out of 10 salon professionals preferred” quantified preference claim, the “All 5 Steps of a Salon Manicure in 1 Bottle” multi-benefit claim (including “growth treatment”), and the implied message that the product was widely available in and used by salon professionals in salons. NAD therefore recommended discontinuation or material modification of those claims to avoid conveying unsupported messages.


Coty, Inc. (Sally Hansen Complete Manicure), NAD Case No. 5201 (2010)