L’Oreal Fails to Win Block on Rival’s Ads

A federal judge in Washington refused to block hair color ads from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s Clairol Hydrience, rejecting charges by archrival L’Oreal that the Clairol ads are deceptive. The Clairol ads say that its products offer a “superior level of gentleness.” L’Oreal said that its rival didn’t have the evidence to support its claim. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Flannery said that while some of Clairol’s testing methods were faulty, L’Oreal hadn’t rebutted Clairol’s “tensile test,” which measures the damage done to the hair’s cortex. The two companies, which together account for almost 90% of the U.S. permanent home hair color market, have battled over the product since Clairol introduced Hydrience last summer.