While the latest Colgate ad on Double Protection screams "two-and-a-half times better than the ordinary toothpaste," the Pepsodent ad in a leading daily goes "get double protection you can actually see".

Colgate Double Protection is the latest oral-healthcare product which, the company says, combines two ingredients, Xylitol and Troclosan, to effectively fight germs.

A Colgate-Palmolive spokesperson said the company's claim of "two-and-a-half times better" is backed by clinicals of in-vivo tests. So a possible challenge from the competition is not going to affect the company's claim. But so was the case with HLL's 102 per cent superiority claim where clinical tests were conducted, and the ad had to be modified, industry observers said.

According to the Colgate-Palmolive spokesperson, the ordinary toothpaste referred to in its ads isany toothpaste which is not therapeutic. HLL said it is evaluating Colgate's Double Protection claim before arriving at a conclusion.

The old battle between the two rivals, which had been simmering for almost 10-months now, has been reactivated with HLL firing a new salvo with the Pepsodent 2-in-1 ad taking on Colgate's `double protection' claim. This has sparked off a no-holds-barred battle between the warring factions. The Pepsodent ad hits hard as it says, "Blind faith is a thing of the past."

It may be recalled that Colgate-Palmolive had challenged HLL's `102 per cent superiority' ad on Pepsodent in the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) court following which HLL was asked to modify the advertisement. The commission had further suggested the setting up of an expert committee to look into the matter.

Later, HLL dragged Colgate's claim of having incorporated a germ fighter in Colgate Dental Cream (CDC) to court saying it did not possess any germicheck properties. While thecases are still dragging, lines have already been drawn for a second battle. Colgate-Palmolive's aggressiveness lies in its concern regarding the market share of its flagship brand CDC which had slipped by almost 8 per cent in September 1997 to 41.9 per cent from 49.8 per cent in the second quarter of 1997.

This was being referred to as a result of a direct impact of HLL's massive `102 per cent' campaign which belittled the ordinary toothpaste (CDC). The New Pepsodent ad was first launched on August 29 last year.