Juicer accuses rival of unfair squeeze<BR>

The two companies are now set to square off in front of the Polish Advertising Council's (RR) arbitration panel sometime after Easter. The case will be the second dispute to be heard by the arbitration panel and could prove to be a make-or-break situation for the body.
The panel's first ruling in January ended with one of the parties to the arbitration refusing to abide by the body's decision. The company, Raisio Polska Foods, has also sued the council for defamation because it disagreed with the decision. (See WBJ, Feb. 2-8, 1998.)
Polska Zywnosc, the Olsztynek-based producer of Kubus concentrated juice, is seeking a ban on radio ad spots for Alima-Gerber's Bobo Frut and Junior Frut brands.
"The spot is a vivid example of unfair competition," said Krzysztof Pawinski, president of the managing board of Polska Zywnosc.
The spat comes as Polska Zywnosc has seen its share of the fruit juice market jump 8% over six months to 23% at the start of 1998, while Alima-Gerber's share dropped 10% to 22% over the same time, according to data from Amer Nielsen Research.
The ad in question, which has aired for the last two weeks on national stations such as RMF FM and Radio Zet, features a conversation between two mothers. One mother offers the other juice that her son, "Kubus," is drinking. But the other mother declines, saying she can't risk trying another brand. This mother then says, "Not everything that is in a small bottle is good for small children."
In addition, the spot, prepared by Grey-Warszawa, boasts that both Bobo Frut and Junior Frut have a certificate of the Mother and Child Institute (IMiD), "which confirms they are appropriate for the first three years of life."
Polska Zywnosc complained that by calling the child in the ad "Kubus," Alima Gerber was trying to allude to Polska Zywnosc's product and discredit it. It also said Alima-Gerber was trying to suggest that a juice that did not have an IMiD certificate was not suitable for children.
The Polish company does not have an IMiD certificate. "But under Polish law, only juices for kids younger than 12 months have to apply for it, which is not the case with Kubus," Pawinski said.
Outraged by the spot, Polska Zywnosc on the night of April 3 faxed a letter to Alima-Gerber demanding that it immediately stop the ad and any further comparative advertising between the companies' products.
"The violation of the law on combating unfair competition is evident and indisputable here," read the letter, signed by Polska Zywnosc's legal representative, Stefan Jaworski of Hogan & Hartson.
The letter, which called for an immediate response, was answered by Alima-Gerber President Ryszard Wojtkowski who said the spot was never meant or created as comparative advertising aimed at discrediting the competitor's brand.
"The name Kubus does not refer to any product, as it is a typical name that is associated with small kids and heroes of popular fairy tales, for example Kubus Puchatek (Winnie the Pooh)," read the answer sent to Hogan & Hartson on April 4.
The answer, however, did not satisfy Polska Zywnosc, which filed a formal complaint with the RR, asking for arbitration, which was agreed to by Alima-Gerber.
Both Alima-Gerber and Polska Zywnosc were still willing to take part in arbitration as of last week.
"We're positive that the arbitration panel will accept our arguments and dismiss the case," said Piotr Kuc, marketing director at Alima-Gerber and a member of the arbitration panel that ruled in the Raisio case. "Even if the panel decides the advertisement was a comparative one, which it wasn't, we plan to prove that it contains true and important information for a consumer, which in no way is discreditable for Polska Zywnosc's product."
Polska Zywnosc was equally confident that its claims would be upheld.
"We truly believe that self-regulation can solve the problem, but if the arbitration process does not satisfy us, we're considering taking the case to court," Pawinski said.