Tag Archives: advertising

When There is Smoke…

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There is fire

Alleging false advertising, two consumers of Traeger grills are accusing the company of selling wood pellets that are not in accordance with the “All Natural Hardwood” claim on the product label.  Small traces of food-grade soybean oil are added to the pellets to provide enhanced flavor and grease.  The plaintiffs, Michael Yates and Norman Jones, argue that only 1/3 of the wood is comprised as advertised, leading them to pay above market value price for the pellets that are, according to their dispute, not entirely natural. Read more →

Katherine Heigl Sues Duane Reade over Twitter Photo

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Twitter trouble

Actress, Katherine Heigl is suing Duane Reade for using an unauthorized picture of her leaving one of their NYC stores with 2 of the chains large shopping bags in tote. The $6 million dollar suit includes an image taken by paparazzi and mention of the actress on Duane Reads twitter page. It read: “Love a quick #DuaneReade run? Even @KatieHeigl can’t resist shopping #NYC’s favorite drugstore” (Gershman 2014).It is alleged that the act is in violation of the Lanham Act, a federal statute that protects celebrities from deceptive advertising, leading the public to believe they endorse a company and or product.

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Apple Settles Embarrassing False Advertising Case

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Rotten apple?

While you were gawking at the new kind-of-better-in-some-ways-I-guess Macbook Pro at this week’s Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple’s law team was quietly paying out a settlement to a Australian government regulators.  Apple shipped their newest 4G-compatible iPhones and -Pads to Australia, where ravenous consumers quickly snatched them up.  There was one catch: the electronics did not actually work with any LTE networks in the country.  Luckily, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission was ready to slap Apple around with a lawsuit, alleging that Apple knowingly advertised this whole 4G business despite being well aware that the technology wouldn’t work.  Sensing an uphill court battle, Apple quickly settled the case (if I had to guess, I’d say it was a pretty clever tactic to hide the negative press among all the buzz for their WWDC event).  The outcome: Apple must pay a fine of $2.25 million to the Australian government, and will also probably have to pick up the tab for $300,000 worth of legal fees.  Though they aren’t required to, Apple is also offering refunds to customers who felt cheated.  What a nice company.

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