Kramer Levin Team Wins Ruling: TV Commercial Is False Advertising

The December 22, 1999 edition of the Wall Street Journal reported that Procter & Gamble obtained a temporary restraining order enjoining SC Johnson from continuing to broadcast a television commercial for its Pledge Grab-It household cleaning system product which disparaged Procter & Gamble's competing Swiffer product.

The "comparative ad" showed Procter & Gamble's Swiffer and SC Johnson's similar Grab-It products in action. Both products use detachable cloths and a long stick to sweep away dirt. But in the ad, Swiffer was enlarged and shown to have gaping holes, allowing dust and other particles to escape; the Grab-It was seen as less perforated. The ad also showed a model whose white glove was dirtied after handling the Swiffer. The Grab-It product left the model's white glove perfectly clean. 

The Kramer Levin team of Harold Weinberger, Jonathan  Wagner, Marjorie Sheldon and Michelle Rossettie successfully persuaded United States District Court Judge Loretta Preska that the advertisement was literally false, and that a temporary restraining order — highly unusual relief in a false advertising case — was warranted in light of the severe harm Procter & Gamble  would likely suffer if the commercial were not enjoined.