As reported in the July 24,
2008 issue of Jobbers World
Online News, Valvoline
launched a national
advertising campaign that
takes on competitor Mobil 1.
The centerpiece of the
campaign claim Valvoline
SynPower has "four times
better wear protection than
Mobil 1."
According to Valvoline, the
claim is based on the
industry standard Sequence
IVA test. The Sequence IVA
is the industry standard
test for determining wear
performance of an engine oil
and is required to meet the
API SL and SM requirements.
Multiple tests showed that
Valvoline SynPower provided
four times better wear
protection than Mobil 1, as
measured in these tests of
5W-30 grades.
ExxonMobil responded to
the claim by saying it was
"not aware of any accurate
technical data to support
the claim" and they
requested Valvoline provide
the "substantiating data to
support this claim
immediately."
Rather than backing down,
Valvoline is holding its
ground, and turns up the
heat.
Marketers say the received a
letter from Valvoline
providing additional
information and data to
support Valvoline SynPower's
significant performance
advantage versus Mobil 1. In
addition, marketers say the
letter turns the table on
ExxonMobil's challenge and
Valvoline is now challenging
ExxonMobil's claim for its
Mobil 1 5W-30.
According to the letter,
Valvoline says the company
conducted a number of tests
and commissioned an
independent laboratory to
evaluate the performance of
SynPower and Mobil 1 in the
Sequence IVA wear test.
Marketers were told the
tests were run on a 5W-30
since it's the top selling
grade.
Now for the
interesting part...
According to a letter
Valvoline marketers
received, the result from
Valvoline's testing
indicate:
- Valvoline SynPower's
5W-30 wear performance
is at least four times
better than Mobil 1
5W-30
- Mobil 1 5W-30 does
not meet minimum API SM
or ILSAC GF-4
specification because of
its inferior performance
in the Sequence IVA wear
test
The letter reportedly
goes on to say that
Valvoline notified
ExxonMobil of the failed
test results in September
and that the company take
appropriate action regarding
their claim that Mobil 1
meets ILSAC GF-4 and API SM
specifications, or provide
substantiation that they in
fact meet these
specifications.
As of today, Valvoline
told JobbersWorld,
ExxonMobil has been silent.
