Brastemp accuses LG of plagiarism in commercial and manages to take refrigerator ad off air

A commercial that explores people’s affective memories based on memories posted on refrigerator doors caused a war between two giants. Whirlpool Corporation, the group that owns the Brastemp brand, turned to Conar to ask for the suspension of a similar advertisement, launched by the South Korean giant LG.

The National Advertising Self-Regulation Council (Conar) is a body that oversees ethical issues in Brazil. He has the power to determine changes to advertisements or prevent them from being broadcast again — which ended up happening with LG’s advertising.

Second report to which the F5 had access, Brastemp made a complaint in 2023 of unfair competition on the part of the competitor, which had used a creative motto previously used by it. The company had launched the “Refrigerator Door” campaign on open TV, digital media and social media. In it, it aligned consumers’ affectionate memories with the brand’s refrigerators, through photos and notes displayed on their doors.

The ad had great audience and engagement success, returning to air in April. That same month, LG started a campaign with a film on its social networks, which Brastemp considered “to lack any signs of originality, characterizing the practice of unfair competition, with a theme also referring to affective memories posted on refrigerator doors”.

For Brastemp, the competitor’s film “appropriated the concept to confuse consumers already familiar with its campaign”. LG defended itself and claimed that “thematic concepts of this type have already been used by other advertisers”, in addition to denying that there is exclusivity in their use.

A conciliation meeting was held at Conar, but there was no agreement. The first instance rapporteur granted an injunction to stop the video on LG’s social media profile. He confirmed this recommendation in the representation trial, citing the articles of the Code that protect advertising creativity and originality against imitations that infringe brands, appeals and concepts, among other aspects.

It was also considered that the South Korean giant’s film “adopted very similar creative characteristics” to those of the Brastemp commercial, both in terms of argument and form and that, as they are direct competitors, it was understood that there was a risk of confusion in consumer perception. In addition to the suspension, he proposed a warning to the company. His vote was followed unanimously.

An ordinary appeal was formulated by LG, which reinforced its initial arguments. They did not convince the second instance rapporteur, who saw no new elements capable of triggering a new analysis or revisiting the initial decision.

“I understand that the contexts of script, setting, art direction and illustration of the two campaigns are very similar. But both are from direct competitors, they ran in the same period and the originality of whoever presented the idea in the first place must be considered”, stated the rapporteur. See the Brastemp commercial below — the LG one is no longer available for sharing, as it has been suspended (and the company has been warned).