false advertising

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Energy Drinks Face Scrutiny in New York

Three producers get subpoenas over marketing claims

(Newser) - New York state's attorney general apparently is a little skeptical about the wonder claims of three popular energy drinks. Eric Schneiderman issued subpoenas to three big players—Monster Beverage; PepsiCo, maker of AMP; and Living Essentials, maker of 5-Hour Energy drink, report the Wall Street Journal and Reuters . The...

Own Skechers? You&#39;re Owed a Refund
Own Skechers? You're Owed
a Refund
May 16, 2012 10:46 AM CDT

Own Skechers? You're Owed a Refund

FTC: Shape-ups won't give you a body like Kim Kardashian's

(Newser) - The government wants you to know that simply sporting a pair of Skechers' fitness shoes is not going to get you Kim Kardashian's curves. Skechers will pay $40 million to settle charges by the FTC that the footwear company made unfounded claims that its $100 Shape-ups shoes (endorsed by...

Reebok to Refund $25M for Bogus Toning Shoes

In order to settle FTC's false advertising complaint

(Newser) - Reebok has agreed to dole out up to $25 million in refunds for people who bought its EasyTone and RunTone shoes, in the mistaken belief that they’d actually help them tone their lower body as advertised. The move settles an FTC complaint that Reebok’s various claims about the...

Taco Bell 'Beefiness' Lawsuit Dropped

So go ahead, enjoy a 'Beefy Crunch Burrito' with no worries

(Newser) - Those of you hoping to see Taco Bell forced to defend the beefiness of its beef in court will be disappointed: The law firm that filed a class-action lawsuit against the fast food chain has now withdrawn it. The suit looked to force Taco Bell to stop calling its meat...

Taco Bell's 'Beef': Just 36% Actual Beef

Which makes us wonder ... what's the other 64%?

(Newser) - Its menus say “beef,” but its packaging cites “meat filling:" Taco Bell has been hit with a class-action suit over “false advertising,” WTOL-11 reports. Chock full of “extenders” and other non-meat items, the chain’s filling has no right to call itself beef,...

That Energy Star Label Might Be Lying

It's common, along with other green marketing fibs

(Newser) - Green-themed false advertising is everywhere: More than 95% of consumer products on the market make some sort of unproven claim or outright lie about environmental benefits, a new study shows. In fact, about 12,000 examples of so-called greenwashing (unsubstantiated claims of being "all-natural" or free of BPA chemicals,...

5 Products That Weren't as Miraculous as Promised

POM's deceitful peers include mouthwash, Airborne

(Newser) - POM Wonderful pomegranate juice is the latest product to find itself in hot water over its health claims, but it's far from alone. The Week lists 5 other exaggerators:
  1. Mouthwash: Johnson and Johnson, CVS, and Walgreens all received reprimands from the FDA last week over unsubstantiated claims that their mouthwash
...

Juicer's New Claim: Pomegranate as Aphrodisiac

POM launches racy ads even as FTC bears down

(Newser) - The makers of POM Wonderful aren't letting an FTC complaint against their health claims slow down the marketing of their pomegranate juice one bit, USA Today reports. POM is now making bold claims in that other advertising standby: sex. In a series of steamy new ads, POM presents the pomegranate...

FDA Cracks Down on Swine Flu Snake Oil

(Newser) - The hysteria over the swine flu pandemic has spawned its share of magic cures, and health authorities are busy combating the snake oil salesmen, the Financial Times reports. Nearly half of the warning letters sent by the FDA to manufacturers and retailers since May have been issued to those hawking...

Caffeinated Booze Prompts State Probes

AGs said to be concerned over deceptive marketing

(Newser) - State attorneys general are taking a hard look at increasingly popular caffeinated alcohol beverages amid fears the combination is dangerous and targeted at underage drinkers, the Wall Street Journal reports. The AGs are calling for company records from the makers of Joose and Four Loko. At 7-Eleven, Joose has had...

Fake Swine Flu Cures Flourish Online

(Newser) - Purported swine flu cures are cropping up online, including a nostril sanitizer, air purifier, and a shampoo that makers say will wash that virus right out of your hair, the Kansas City Star reports. The FDA has mailed out more than 50 warnings to online sellers not to make such...

Feds Push More Truth in Advertising

(Newser) - Maybe Chuck Norris and Christie Brinkley did get those bods from that exercise equipment, but fears that consumers don’t really understand “results may vary” has the Federal Trade Commission looking to tighten its rules, Advertising Age reports. Advertisers would have to show that consumers would see similar results,...

Supreme Court OKs Lawsuits Over 'Light' Cigarettes

State laws allow for legal action for alleged deceptive marketing

(Newser) - The Supreme Court ruled today that lawsuits may proceed against tobacco companies for allegedly deceptive marketing of “light” cigarettes. In a 5-4 split won by the court’s liberals, the court said smokers may use state consumer-protection laws to sue over such promotional methods. The decision was at odds...

High Court Appears Cool to Smokers' Suit

Marlboro ads make people really inhale, lawyers tell high court

(Newser) - Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical over a lawsuit against Philip Morris cigarette ads today, McClatchy reports. A group of Maine smokers claim that ads for Marlboro Lights are deceptive, saying the company knew smokers would inhale more deeply on them and draw in more chemicals. At stake is the power...

'Misleading' iPhone Ad Banned
 'Misleading' iPhone Ad Banned 
Aug 27, 2008 4:42 PM CDT

'Misleading' iPhone Ad Banned

British regulators say claim that device can access 'all parts of the internet' is untrue

(Newser) - British advertising regulators have banned a commercial claiming iPhones have “access to all the parts of the internet,” citing technological limitations that prevent users from seeing some websites, CNET News reports. iPhones don’t have Flash or Java, and while Apple simply intended to contrast the product with...

Airborne Will Offer Refunds Over Ad Claims

Maker of fizzy orange tablet settles with feds after cold-cure boasts

(Newser) - Airborne—the fizzy orange tablet long pitched as a way to cure and prevent the common cold—will refund consumers the price of up to six purchases because it has no evidence to back up those claims, the Washington Post reports. Under a deal cut yesterday, the company will add...

Cold 'Remedy' Firm Settles Suit for $23M

Airborne ends class action with promise of consumer refunds

(Newser) - Herbal supplement company Airborne will pay $23.3 million to settle a class-action suit alleging false advertising but won't say it did anything wrong, CNNMoney reports. At issue was the company's claim its pills could cure colds. Airborne denies “any wrongdoing or illegal conduct,” but it will give...

Subway Sues Quiznos Over Ad Contest
Subway Sues Quiznos
Over Ad Contest
Jan 29, 2008 7:30 PM CST

Subway Sues Quiznos Over Ad Contest

Sandwich-maker offered $10K to fan that best mocked competitor

(Newser) - Subway is suing Quiznos after the sub-maker invited fans to drum up ads for an online contest, the New York Times reports. Two years ago, Quiznos offered $10,000 to the fan whose ad best compared Quiznos subs to Subway's "with Quiznos being superior." Subway fumed after seeing...

Verizon Sues Alltel Over Guinea Pig Ad

Wireless giant says claims made in commercial are untrue

(Newser) - Verizon Wireless is suing rival Alltel for false advertising over a television commercial featuring a vicious guinea pig, the Register reports. In the ad, a caged rodent named Alice is compared to Verizon customers who lack the freedom to change calling plans without extending their contracts. Released from her cage,...

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