Crazy lawsuit - Red Bull

[Go The Power]

This was a lawsuit I could not believe...
'Red Bull does not give you wings': Company settles $US13mil lawsuit over false advertising claims | SBS News

It would have to be one of the most ridiculous ones I have ever seen.

 

[jcgriff2]

It is most definitely as asinine as other class action law suits like it are.

I wonder how many people will fill out the form to get $10 cash/ $15 products.

No way to really prove whether or not you actually purchased the product or not over the last 12 years.

Let your conscience do the walking. . . http://rdb.gcg-dev.com/claim

 

[Will]

Okay, let's read past the headline here. :thumbsup2:

The claim made against red bull is that their claim that red bull increases performance and concentration is misleading, and there is no scientific evidence that drinking red bull is any more beneficial to you than drinking coffee, despite their ads suggesting that it is.

The issue is not someone complaining that red bull does not literally give you wings, buta ggenuine argument against false advertising.

 

[niemiro]

I'm not so sure. Where did the reference to coffee actually come from (apart from the fact that Red Bull contains caffeine?). I don't really see how "Gives you Wings" really in and of itself claims that "Red Bull > Coffee".

 

[Will]

From reading. :grin1:

"Such deceptive conduct and practices mean that [Red Bull’s] advertising and marketing is not just 'puffery,' but is instead deceptive and fraudulent and is therefore actionable," the suit said.

The class action cites articles by The New York Times, Nutrition Reviews and the European Food Safety Authority Journal, which claim energy drinks provide their boost through caffeine alone, not guarana or any other ingredient.

Even though there is a lack of genuine scientific support for a claim that Red Bull branded energy drinks provide any more benefit to a consumer than a cup of coffee, the Red Bull defendants persistently and pervasively market their product as a superior source of ‘energy’ worthy of a premium price over a cup of coffee or other sources of caffeine.”

I don't really see how "Gives you Wings" really in and of itself claims that "Red Bull > Coffee".

As per the article, they're not complaining about the tag line "Gives you Wings". That's just something media outlets have focused on - it's a much better headline than "Legitimate false advertising claim is legitimate.".

 

[niemiro]

From reading. :grin1:

"Such deceptive conduct and practices mean that [Red Bull’s] advertising and marketing is not just 'puffery,' but is instead deceptive and fraudulent and is therefore actionable," the suit said.

The class action cites articles by The New York Times, Nutrition Reviews and the European Food Safety Authority Journal, which claim energy drinks provide their boost through caffeine alone, not guarana or any other ingredient.

Even though there is a lack of genuine scientific support for a claim that Red Bull branded energy drinks provide any more benefit to a consumer than a cup of coffee, the Red Bull defendants persistently and pervasively market their product as a superior source of ‘energy’ worthy of a premium price over a cup of coffee or other sources of caffeine.”

I don't really see how "Gives you Wings" really in and of itself claims that "Red Bull > Coffee".

As per the article, they're not complaining about the tag line "Gives you Wings". That's just something media outlets have focused on - it's a much better headline than "Legitimate false advertising claim is legitimate.".

Ah, thanks for that. I actually read the article on a British website a few days ago & it didn't make that nearly as clear. Today I only skim-read the article linked and missed that part.

 

[Laxer]

I also do not see where coffee comes into play or how it has anything to do with it.

I don't really see how their marketing is anymore deceptive or fraudulent than anyone other company's.

Yes redbull can lead to an increase in performance as can any other source of caffeine, personally red bull is one of my least favorite energy drinks but, I still think this is absolutely crazy...

I bet it is because they sponsor the X-games and other highly publicized events with top performing athletes.

In the end 13 million is a fairly small price to pay but still, the claim is ridiculous.

 

[Will]

Media outlets are very rarely truthful in what they tell you. :thumbsup2:

It's much easier to focus on the exciting headline or element, even if it's completely misleading, than actually try and say... report the news.

@Laxer - Red Bull being a "performance boost" has been a huge part of their advertising for the last 12 years. If there isn't any scientific evidence to actually support this, it's false advertising. Red Bull has also had a huge number of different ads, and I'd be incredibly surprised if none of them did suggest that Red Bull gave a better performance boost than any other drink.

It's also an out of court settlement - maybe a judge would have disagreed and said that their advertising is fine. Probably if you got 20 different judges to take the case you'd get a different outcome every time.

You need very high ethical standards in advertising, which are sadly lacking quite a lot of the time. Any objective claim or implied claim you make needs to be completely supported. If you disagree with that, then it's your own fault when you get sold something that wasn't what was advertised. This is a huge problem for lots of places, and works against both the advertiser and the consumer.

 

[Laxer]

I understand redbull claims it gives a performance boost. This is scientifically proven as is any other drink containing half that amount of caffeine.

The 13 mil settlement was probably far cheaper than the legal fees even if they would have won....

What's next that snickers don't turn you from a Diva into a normal person?

 

[Will]

Again,

But the class-action lawsuit, which began in January 2013, cited evidence in The New York Times, Nutrition Reviews and the European Food Safety Authority Journal that indicated energy drinks provide their boost through caffeine alone, not guarana or any other ingredient.

As a result, Mr Careathers argued, Red Bull’s performance-enhancing properties could only be tested by the quantity of caffeine in each can, which worked out more expensive that a cup of coffee from Starbucks.

“Such deceptive conduct and practices mean that [Red Bull’s] advertising and marketing is not just ‘puffery,’ but is instead deceptive and fraudulent and is therefore actionable,” the suit said.
“Even though there is a lack of genuine scientific support for a claim that Red Bull branded energy drinks provide any more benefit to a consumer than a cup of coffee, the Red Bull defendants persistently and pervasively market their product as a superior source of ‘energy’ worthy of a premium price over a cup of coffee or other sources of caffeine.”

The claim is not that Red Bull doesn't give any performance boost, but that it gives a superior performance boost that doesn't just rely on the caffeine, but other active ingredients.

Don't just read the headline - it's about more than the tagline "Red Bull gives you wings". Having not seen a Red Bull ad for quite a long time, I'm not commenting on whether Red Bull ads are false advertising, but the class action suit has a legitimate concern and they might have won had it gone to court.

Caffeine is a scientifically proven performance boost. The other active ingredients in Red Bull are probably not, and the concern of the law suit is whether Red Bull has given the impression or outright stated that they are.

 

[Laxer]

I read the document Will, just don't agree with it.

This is another one of those "Hot coffee" types of claims which are just asinine to me.

Hopefully this won't jack up the prices of redbull even more :lolg:

 

[Wrench97]

Reminds me of why Amana and Coloric include the warning "Do not place small animals or children in the Oven"..............Seems a woman sued because when she put her cat into her new Amana Radar Range to dry it off after a bath it cooked it instead....................she stated in court that she always dried her cat off in her old gas oven..................She won.

 

[Laxer]

:rofl12: that's a great one Bruce!

I onetime turned my dryer on with my cat in it because it refused to get out.... It doesn't go in there anymore :lol:

 

[jcgriff2]

Hopefully this won't jack up the prices of redbull even more :lolg:

Do you really drink that ****?

I don't even drink coffee anymore (25+ years now), but did when I was your age while at work.

These days, I get my speed boost from 93+ octane super unleaded gasoline! :0