Scott Paper Ltd. and Procter & Gamble Co. reached an out-of-court settlement over claims that P&G;’s “quicker picker-upper” advertising for Bounty paper towels in Canada are unfair.
The companies said they agreed to clarify advertising claims and how Canadian products will be differentiated from those in the United States.
Further details of the confidential agreement weren’t disclosed. Company officials couldn’t be reached for additional comment.
Scott had been seeking damages of more than $725,900 in its lawsuit filed in Toronto in November.
The lawsuit involved Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble’s well-known commercials featuring Rosie the waitress, who touts Bounty as the “quicker picker-upper” over other paper towels. The Canadian company said the commercial fails to note important differences in the products, and that has hurt it in the Canadian market.
Scott Paper said the P&G; ad fails to disclose that Bounty paper towels are 11 inches long, compared with the industry average of 9 inches.
P&G;, which has featured the commercial for several years in the United States, started selling Bounty in Canada earlier this year.
The lawsuit, filed in the Federal Court of Canada against the Toronto-based unit of Procter & Gamble, sought to halt the use of the “quicker picker-upper” slogan, as well as “misleading” statements about Bounty towels’ absorptive power and speed.
It also seeks general damages equal to the profits earned by P&G; related to its Bounty ad campaign in Canada, plus special, punitive and exemplary damages of $725,900.
