To introduce its more effective eye drops, Schering-Plough took aim at the market leader with this line in its magazine ads: “New OcuClear relieves three times longer than Visine.” To tout its exclusive manufacturing process that makes Folgers decaffeinated crystals produce darker coffee, Procter & Gamble ran print ads with Folgers and “the leading brand” (Sanka) prepared in see-through glass cups. The copy read, “Looks so dark and rich, shouldn’t you switch?” To establish the superiority of its household cleaner, Bristol-Myers ran TV commercials claiming, “New Liquid Vanish really does clean tough rust stains below the water line better than Lysol,” and showing the two brands in action.
A version of this article appeared in the May–June 1989 issue of Harvard Business Review.
