The court first stated that the television commercial can mislead the consumer into thinking that the dishwasher tablet contains the Dreft cleaning soap, whereas in reality it does not. As a result, an average consumer may have the wrong impression of the composition (e.g. the ingredients) of the product advertised.
However, the court further stated, this practice will only be unfair hence prohibited in the event it will induce a consumer to take a transactional decision that it would not have taken otherwise. In this case, the court was of the opinion that the most important feature for a consumer is the effectiveness of the dishwasher tablet. Consequently, if it can be established by the defendant that the dishwasher tablet was as effective as its cleaning soap Dreft, which was actually not disputed by the plaintiff, it will not matter to the consumer which are the ingredients of the dishwasher (i.e. whether or not the fluid part of the tablet was in fact Dreft).
As a result, the court concluded that the defendant had not breached the prohibition on misleading commercial practices.