Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Tag: advertising

  • Dannon, Chobani Dispute Yogurt Ads

    Chobani has filed a lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that its advertisements claiming competitor Dannon’s yogurt contains chlorine are not false or misleading, prompting Dannon to file a counterclaim seeking a preliminary injunction. Chobani v. The Dannon Co., Inc., No. 16-0030 (N.D.N.Y., complaint filed January 8, 2016, counterclaim filed January 11, 2016). Chobani’s complaint details…

  • Tito’s False Ad Suit to Continue

    A New York federal court has denied Fifth Generation, Inc.’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit arguing that its Tito’s Handmade Vodka® is falsely advertised as handmade because machines are used in the process of manufacturing the product. Singleton v. Fifth Generation, Inc., No. 15-0474 (N.D.N.Y., order entered January 12, 2016). The court rejected the company’s claim that its…

  • Olive Oil Class Voluntarily Dismisses “Extra Virgin” Claims to Pursue “Made in Italy” False Ad Allegations

    A California federal court has allowed plaintiffs in a false advertising putative class action to dismiss their claims of fraud based on the “extra virgin” quality of Filippo Berio olive oil in favor of pursuing their allegations that the products are falsely labeled as “made in Italy.” Kumar v. Salov N. Am. Corp., No. 14-2411…

  • Baltimore Considers SSB Health Warnings

    Baltimore City Councilman Nick Mosby (D) has introduced legislation that would require health warnings for sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in certain advertisements, menus, menu boards and point-of-sale signage. “The beverage industry specifically targets youth and communities of color with its marketing efforts, spending $395 million in marketing directed at youth and $28.6 million on marketing campaigns…

  • ASA Dismisses Complaint Against Baileys™ Christmas Ad

    The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has dismissed a complaint alleging that Diageo Great Britain Ltd.’s holiday commercials for Baileys™ liqueur “implied that the success of a social occasion depended on the presence or consumption of alcohol.” Despite Alcohol Concern’s claim that the tagline “IT’S NOT CHRISTMAS WITHOUT YOU… BAILEYS” was “irresponsible,” the agency agreed…

  • Photographer Sues Artist Jeff Koons for Infringement of Gin Ad

    Photographer Mitchel Gray has reportedly filed a lawsuit against Jeff Koons alleging that one of the artist’s works infringes on Gray’s copyright to a photo used in a Gordon’s® gin advertisement in 1986. The ad portrays a photo of a woman painting on the beach and a man seated next to her, a photo of…

  • San Francisco Board of Supervisors Repeals SSB Ad Ban on City Property

    The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has reportedly voted to repeal an ordinance prohibiting advertisements for sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) on city property in light of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, Ariz., that struck down a comparable initiative restricting advertising on public property. The ordinance was one of three passed…

  • NAD Refers “Danish” Cookie Controversy to FDA, FTC

    The National Advertising Division (NAD), an investigative unit of the U.S. advertising industry’s system of self-regulation, has referred to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) an ad campaign for Danisa “Traditional Butter Cookies,” which are manufactured by the Mayora Group in Indonesia and distributed by Takari International, Inc. NAD…