Using the same disease information between branded and unbranded
-
Hi there,
I have a question regarding similarities and differences between branded and unbranded materials. I understand that unbranded pieces must not contain any branding elements (e.g. colours/colour scheme, logos, graphics, images etc), cannot resemble branded advertising in any way (including but not limited to any content/layout presented in such a manner as to create a link with branded material), and cannot be used in conjunction with branded advertising.
My first question is regarding whether it is okay to use the same supporting data for disease information between branded and unbranded? For example, let's say there is a survey that states "72% of adult respondents with moderate AD said they experienced itch multiple times a day". Are we allowed to use this same 72% in both branded and unbranded pieces (assuming it meets the criteria above)?
My second question is regarding similarity of copy. If both an unbranded and branded piece have the same sentence: "72% of adult respondents with moderate AD said they experienced itch multiple times a day" but the layouts/colour/visuals of how this sentence is displayed are very different, is that okay? We are asking because sometimes it's hard to say a sentence like this in a very different way.
-
@kshulist apologies for the delay, this one slipped through the cracks.
As a general response to a general question, there is no aspect of the Code which states that references or disease information claims used in branded pieces cannot be used in unbranded pieces. There are, however, reasons to not accept a reference in an unbranded piece that was accepted in a branded piece and vise vice versa. The concept at the core of the evaluation is linkage. If one could argue that the structure/nature of the piece and the use of the reference creates a link between branded and unbranded pieces, then the use may be challenged. This would be discussed during the review process. An opinion is also another great option for providing a more accurate assessment of the tools and references you have in mind.
From a general question perspective, it is difficult to answer if the use of the exact same sentence would be acceptable. We would consider the totality of both pieces to assess the similarity and linkage.
-
@jennifer-carroll Thanks Jennifer, this is helpful!
