ITS much repeated claim to leave users “dandruff-free” has made Head & Shoulders the best-selling shampoo in Britain — but that slogan will have to change after the Advertising Standards Authority ruled yesterday that it does not do what it says on the bottle.

For decades the shampoo has used “before and after” shots to prove that regular use eliminates embarrassing signs of dandruff. However, a television viewer complained that the claim to leave users “100 per cent dandruff-free” was incredible. The ASA upheld the complaint and ordered the company to drop a six-year campaign because its claim to remove all dandruff was “misleading”.

Procter & Gamble (P&G), which owns Head & Shoulders, is to relaunch the brand as a “female-friendly” product with a £15 million campaign starring the Sex And The City actress Kristin Davis.

The controversy erupted over a campaign devised by Saatchi & Saatchi for two variations on the shampoo. Regular use of Cool Menthol and Ocean Spa would leave hair “100 per cent dandruff-free”, the company promised.

P&G argued that 100 per cent dandruff-free did not actually mean that all dandruff would disappear. It said that its slogan meant that regular use would eliminate the “visible flakes” — as seen by other people from a distance of two feet, chosen as the approximate gap between people when they are in conversation.

P&G provided evidence which showed that after three weeks’ regular use of the product, 95 per cent of test subjects had 100 per cent of their visible flakes removed. A longer trial with the new products, which add sea minerals and botanical extracts to the traditional Head & Shoulders mix, would rid the remainder of dandruff, P&G maintained.

However, the ASA said that it had given the impression that the product got rid of all dandruff, not only the flakes that other people might be able to spot from two feet away. It said: “We considered consumers were likely to interpret the claim ‘100 per cent visible flakes with regular use’ as referring to dandruff which was visible to them, for example when they were styling their hair in a mirror, as well as dandruff flakes visible to others.

“We did not consider they would be aware that the claim had been based on flakes visible only to others from a distance of two feet. The evidence provided did not support the absolute 100 per cent claim for all consumers.”

The ASA added: “We considered that the on-screen text which referred to visible flakes contradicted rather then clarified the claims and agreed that the ads were misleading.”

P&G must not make the “100 per cent” claim in future campaigns, the watchdog ruled.

The company said that its consumers were extremely loyal and that the effectiveness of Head & Shoulders was demonstrated through its sales.

P&G dominates Britain’s £315 million shampoo market and Head & Shoulders is the top seller with a 12 per cent market share, according to the research group Mintel.

With the help of Davis as the “face of Head & Shoulders”, it is trying to move the brand from being a “medicated proposition” to being a cosmetic product for the whole family.

ALTERNATIVES

Dandruff is linked to diet, with yeast a cause. Avoiding high-carbohydrate foods such as white rice, pasta, bread and alcohol cuts yeast. Fish, fresh vegetables and brown rice should help

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