Kramer Levin Wins NAD Challenge for Client ExxonMobil Regarding Castrol EDGE Advertising

On behalf of its client, ExxonMobil Corporation, Kramer Levin successfully challenged BP Lubricants USA’s advertising for Castrol EDGE motor oil at the National Advertising Division (NAD). In both a television commercial and interactive Facebook advertising, BP subjected its product and ExxonMobil’s Mobil 1 motor oil to a purported competition: cars lubricated by each of the motor oils were placed on dynamometers running at 75 miles per hour, on a seven percent grade, fully loaded at 1,600 pounds, for five straight days – leading to dramatically-depicted engine failure. BP relied on this “torture test” to support claims that its product is “DRIVEN STRONGER,” and was “proven stronger than Mobil 1.” NAD agreed with ExxonMobil that, although torture testing can be used to support product claims, all advertising must be consumer relevant. Concluding that BP’s torture testing failed to present conditions with “real world relevance,” NAD further criticized several aspects of BP’s test protocol and statistical modeling. Agreeing with ExxonMobil that BP’s protocol was insufficiently reliable to support its numerous comparative claims and denigrating product demonstration, NAD recommended that the advertising be discontinued. BP has appealed the decision to the National Advertising Review Board. The Kramer Levin team included litigation partner Norman C. Simon and associate Kurt M. Denk.