5-Star Review Numbers Challenged
Ensure all data is substantiated
Making claims about the aggregated number of five-star reviews is quite common. In this NAD case, one of the challenged claims, “210,000+ 5-Star Reviews of Rascals Products,” was found not supported, as the company did not provide information on its “reviews collection process and the controls in place to avoid double counting.”
Another interesting aspect of this involves the qualifier. The company added the following qualifier below the “210,000+ 5-Star Reviews” statement on the homepage, which was fine. However, NAD found this disclosure not clear or conspicuous when added to the product listing.
Company disclosure. “*Based on all reviews of Rascals diapers, training pants, and wipes across websites globally, including incentivized and organic reviews.”
From NAD case. “NAD determined that while the revised disclosure is clear and conspicuous on the Rascals website, it is neither clear nor conspicuous when appearing in the product listing, where it appears via a small, hyperlinked footnote in a block of disclosures. NAD recommended that any disclosures be clearly and conspicuously displayed on the same page and immediately adjacent to the claim they modify.”
The “Parents are Happier with Rascals” claim was challenged, and NAD determined that the “use of the relative word “happier” reasonably conveys not merely consumer “happiness” with Rascals diapers, but also that they are more happy as compared to their experience with other brands. In the absence of a consumer survey or other preference evidence to support this comparative claim, NAD concluded that it was not supported and recommended it be discontinued.”
The challenged “Hydrolock CoreTM holds up to 25 x its weight” and “absorbs 15 x its weight” claim was determined to be a performance claims that “reasonable consumers will understand them as conveying messages about the absorption performance they can expect from Rascals diapers in real life – even if the diapers will rarely if ever be tasked with holding 15 times their weight or 25 times the weight of the core.”
From NAD Case. “NAD concluded that these claims were not supported by reliable absorption testing and recommended they be discontinued.”
Diapers are big business, and in this case, NAD challenged the incumbent, Procter & Gamble Company (P&G), which challenged some of Rascals International Limited’s claims. This is a case to watch as Rascals apparently did not comply with all of NAD’s decisions, resulting in NAD referring this case to the FTC. Referrals are the “teeth” of NAD, and messing with the FTC is something every company wants to avoid.
The moral of the story is to be extra careful to ensure claims are correctly substantiated, especially in ultra-competitive areas such as diapers, dental products, and brain health-related supplements. I expect to see more supplement cases and challenges in the hair growth and women’s health support claims in 2026.
Read the original NAD case here.
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