Comparative advertising

Comparative advertising is permitted in Europe, even when it involves using somebody else’s brand. Still, companies should not take it too far: using comparative advertising to sully or undermine a competitor’s brand remains prohibited by law. An example of this is a ruling in the Netherlands wherein the judge forbade Burger King’s ad campaign that saw McDonald’s trademark clown shopping at Burger King. The judge thought it was humiliating. We simply thought it was funny.