MyCouponExpert’s position on the $5/2 Clairol Coupon

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It is RIGHT or WRONG to use this coupon on products other than the intended use?

Clairol coupon from 7/7/13 P&G insert

Every now and then a coupon will pop up that has a vague description and it will be used by a zillion people on items that it was not originally intended for.  The new Clairol coupon in this Sunday’s P&G insert is one of those coupons.   I want to make it clear that everyone is going to have to make their own decision regarding the use of this coupon, but as always, we are stating our position on the correct use of this coupon.

Here is some information that we have gathered:

• Clairol has stated that the coupon is “Good ONLY for Clairol Hair Color”.
• The Clairol website www.Clairol.com ONLY lists hair color under their “Product” section.
  Under the FAQ section of their site when asked “What products does Clairol make?”, they answer is haircolor products (see here).
  
• In the past, any and ALL coupons put out under the Clairol name were for hair color only.
• The SAME P&G insert that this coupon is found ALSO has a separate coupon for Herbal Essence which is the product that many people are using this coupon on.

Herbal Essence coupon from 7/7/13 P&G insert

Clairol DOES manufacture Herbal Essence, however the BRAND is Herbal Essence once manufactured and marketed as Herbal Essence not as Clairol Shampoo or Conditioner.  This is the reason why they have a separate coupon for the Herbal Essence products in the same coupon insert.

It is CLEAR to me that Clairol made a critical mistake when designing this coupon by not specifying hair color in the description.  This mistake provides a loophole that MANY will use to buy products that the coupon was not intended for. 

The intended use of this coupon is for Clairol Hair Color products.  Huge companies like this DO make mistakes from time to time and in this case it is one that will likely be very costly to the company.   Yes, Clairol is a big company and many will respond that “they can afford it since it was their mistake”, but the reality is that it will likely come back in the form of lower value P&G coupons or higher priced products to absorb the losses.

The $5.00/2 Clairol Hair Color coupon is one that we see quite often and it usually results in free hair color at Dollar General, Family Dollar and other stores at some point during the life of the coupon.  It is an excellent high dollar coupon and it would be a shame to see the coupon value decrease in the future due to a printing error.

The bottom line here is that we all have to make our own decision on the proper use of this coupon.  I personally will not be using the coupon for Herbal Essence products nor will I be promoting the use of this coupon this way.   However, it is not my responsibility to make decisions for anyone else an I am not in any way trying to be the judge on how you choose to use this coupon.  I also am not interested in getting involved in a big dramatic debate on the proper use of this coupon when it was a mistake that Clairol made.  I simply want to put out information as correctly as I can and give you the best information available to make your own decision.

So this is our official statement regarding this coupon, it is up to you to make your own decision.

*UPDATED RESPONSE FROM CLAIROL*

“It was our intent that the coupon be used for $5 off of any 2 Clairol hair color products. A Herbal Essences coupon for the shampoo & conditioner was found on the page following our Clairol coupon. However, we understand that the wording of the coupon does not clarify hair color and want to reassure you that we fully take responsibility and will honor the redemptions.  However, we hope that our original intent of offering $5 off of any 2 Clairol hair color products is recognized, so that we can continue to provide value offers in the future. Thank you for reaching out for clarity.”

Our position remains the same, we will not promote the use of this coupon on any items other than it’s intended use.