H&R Block CEO promises aggressive response to competitor’s ‘outrageous’ ads

TurboTax launched the first salvo: an ad campaign that seems to mock H&R Block employees. H&R Block is not taking the ads lightly. In an internal email to employees that was acquired by PR Daily and confirmed by an H&R Block spokesperson, the company’s CEO Bill Cobb promised to respond with a vigorous defense.

“We have a strong brand built on integrity and professionalism and anchored by our tax professionals,” Cobb told employees and franchise owners in the email. “We are going to defend our tax professionals and our brand against this attack—and we will do it quickly, directly and aggressively.”

The two commercials, which are currently running on cable channels such as the Hallmark Network and BBC America, suggest H&R Block tax preparers are unqualified. In one ad, a woman shopping for clothes in a department store is helped by a store clerk who also prepared her taxes.

Another ad takes a similar approach, except in this scenario the tax preparer is also a plumber.