Examples of unfair advertising abroad
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2025 6:08 am
Luminosity
In early 2016, the developers of a well-known software product for brain training were fined $2 million by the decision of the Federal Trade Commission of the United States. FTC experts concluded that the creators of Luminosity misled users with unjustified information in their advertising.
Luminosity
Lumos Labs' advertising materials said that medicare leads email list the app would improve schoolchildren's academic performance, prevent age-related memory loss, and even help with Alzheimer's disease. The company's marketers claimed that if you use the device 3 times a week for more than 10 minutes, you can maximize your potential in any area of your life.
Nutella
Not only children but also adults love this chocolate spread with this name. The owner of this product, the Italian sweets manufacturer Ferrero, was forced to participate in a lawsuit in 2012 because of the information contained in the advertisement about the health benefits of Nutella for humans. Moreover, he claimed that it was an excellent solution for a children's "healthy breakfast". Such information does not correspond to the composition of the product indicated on the label. A serving of the spread contains over 20 g of sugar and 11 g of fat. This has nothing to do with healthy food. At the same time, the composition of the chocolate spread with nuts may vary depending on the country of manufacture.
An American woman from California filed a lawsuit against Nutella, in which she noted that, having succumbed to dishonest advertising, she fed the chocolate paste to her child, not suspecting that the product contained harmful components. Apparently, she ignored the general rule of the buyer to carefully study the data labels and relied on the honesty of PR. After considering the complaint, the court ruled that Nutella is obliged to pay the plaintiff compensation in the amount of over $ 3 million. The manufacturer had to make payments to many buyers of the product who purchased it during 2008-2012. After this event, the company took a course on complete openness and began to indicate the exact sugar content in the paste on the front of the can.
Nutella
Activia
The American division of the well-known corporation Danone, as the manufacturer of dairy products with probiotics "Activia", was ordered to pay a fine in 2008 on charges of using unscientific messages about the benefits of its products. The advertisement for Activia yogurts from Danone stated that they had clinically confirmed their usefulness for human immunity and the functioning of the digestive system. In the United States, commercials were shown with the participation of the popular actress Jamie Lee Curtis, who reported the presence of special bacteria in Activia. As it turned out, except for the fact that the cost of Activia products was 30% higher than that of similar yogurts, it has no other special advantages.
During the pre-trial examination of the case of unfair advertising, the Danone company was forced to form a fund of $35 million, from which compensation of up to $100 will be paid to all consumers who applied.
Red Bull
You can't make impossible promises in advertising. For example, a statement that a product will give you wings and the ability to fly is a deliberate deception. This is exactly the message that marketers gave in advertising promoting the energy drink Red Bull. In 2014, the manufacturer of Red Bull, following a court case that concluded that this product does not give wings, paid a fine of $ 13 million.
Of course, every sensible person understands that it is impossible to fly after drinking any drink. However, the slogan of the Red Bull product company formed the opinion among consumers that by drinking a can of energy drink, you can increase your mental and physical activity, become more focused and attentive. This statement of the manufacturer was not confirmed by any clinical studies.
Hyundai and Kia
Every car enthusiast believes that the list of the most important criteria when choosing a car should include the volume of fuel consumption. When comparing this indicator for different cars, buyers are guided by the data of manufacturers. Unfounded promises of low fuel consumption cost Hyundai and Kia Motors concerns millions of dollars.
In 2012, experts found that the aforementioned automakers had understated this figure for their cars in the documentation. Representatives of the Korean companies claimed that there was no malicious intent. They claimed that everything had happened because of minor calculation errors, as a result of which the fuel consumption figure was understated by about 3%. But the US court still made a decision obliging the Korean auto giants to pay compensation to the owners of more than 900 thousand cars in the amount of $395 million.
Volkswagen
Before passing state tests of cars for emission purity, the famous German manufacturer introduced software into its models that significantly underestimated the indicators of harmful substances in exhaust gases. In addition, experts found the presence of additional devices for cleaning emissions that deceived the testing equipment. Over seven years, starting in 2008, Volkswagen representatives sold more than 11 million models of this brand with diesel engines (Golf TD, Beetle TD, Jetta TD, Passat TD and Audi A3 TD). All these cars were positioned as environmentally friendly.
In early 2016, the developers of a well-known software product for brain training were fined $2 million by the decision of the Federal Trade Commission of the United States. FTC experts concluded that the creators of Luminosity misled users with unjustified information in their advertising.
Luminosity
Lumos Labs' advertising materials said that medicare leads email list the app would improve schoolchildren's academic performance, prevent age-related memory loss, and even help with Alzheimer's disease. The company's marketers claimed that if you use the device 3 times a week for more than 10 minutes, you can maximize your potential in any area of your life.
Nutella
Not only children but also adults love this chocolate spread with this name. The owner of this product, the Italian sweets manufacturer Ferrero, was forced to participate in a lawsuit in 2012 because of the information contained in the advertisement about the health benefits of Nutella for humans. Moreover, he claimed that it was an excellent solution for a children's "healthy breakfast". Such information does not correspond to the composition of the product indicated on the label. A serving of the spread contains over 20 g of sugar and 11 g of fat. This has nothing to do with healthy food. At the same time, the composition of the chocolate spread with nuts may vary depending on the country of manufacture.
An American woman from California filed a lawsuit against Nutella, in which she noted that, having succumbed to dishonest advertising, she fed the chocolate paste to her child, not suspecting that the product contained harmful components. Apparently, she ignored the general rule of the buyer to carefully study the data labels and relied on the honesty of PR. After considering the complaint, the court ruled that Nutella is obliged to pay the plaintiff compensation in the amount of over $ 3 million. The manufacturer had to make payments to many buyers of the product who purchased it during 2008-2012. After this event, the company took a course on complete openness and began to indicate the exact sugar content in the paste on the front of the can.
Nutella
Activia
The American division of the well-known corporation Danone, as the manufacturer of dairy products with probiotics "Activia", was ordered to pay a fine in 2008 on charges of using unscientific messages about the benefits of its products. The advertisement for Activia yogurts from Danone stated that they had clinically confirmed their usefulness for human immunity and the functioning of the digestive system. In the United States, commercials were shown with the participation of the popular actress Jamie Lee Curtis, who reported the presence of special bacteria in Activia. As it turned out, except for the fact that the cost of Activia products was 30% higher than that of similar yogurts, it has no other special advantages.
During the pre-trial examination of the case of unfair advertising, the Danone company was forced to form a fund of $35 million, from which compensation of up to $100 will be paid to all consumers who applied.
Red Bull
You can't make impossible promises in advertising. For example, a statement that a product will give you wings and the ability to fly is a deliberate deception. This is exactly the message that marketers gave in advertising promoting the energy drink Red Bull. In 2014, the manufacturer of Red Bull, following a court case that concluded that this product does not give wings, paid a fine of $ 13 million.
Of course, every sensible person understands that it is impossible to fly after drinking any drink. However, the slogan of the Red Bull product company formed the opinion among consumers that by drinking a can of energy drink, you can increase your mental and physical activity, become more focused and attentive. This statement of the manufacturer was not confirmed by any clinical studies.
Hyundai and Kia
Every car enthusiast believes that the list of the most important criteria when choosing a car should include the volume of fuel consumption. When comparing this indicator for different cars, buyers are guided by the data of manufacturers. Unfounded promises of low fuel consumption cost Hyundai and Kia Motors concerns millions of dollars.
In 2012, experts found that the aforementioned automakers had understated this figure for their cars in the documentation. Representatives of the Korean companies claimed that there was no malicious intent. They claimed that everything had happened because of minor calculation errors, as a result of which the fuel consumption figure was understated by about 3%. But the US court still made a decision obliging the Korean auto giants to pay compensation to the owners of more than 900 thousand cars in the amount of $395 million.
Volkswagen
Before passing state tests of cars for emission purity, the famous German manufacturer introduced software into its models that significantly underestimated the indicators of harmful substances in exhaust gases. In addition, experts found the presence of additional devices for cleaning emissions that deceived the testing equipment. Over seven years, starting in 2008, Volkswagen representatives sold more than 11 million models of this brand with diesel engines (Golf TD, Beetle TD, Jetta TD, Passat TD and Audi A3 TD). All these cars were positioned as environmentally friendly.