Tag: advertising

  • Gatorade Agrees Not to Assert that Water is Bad For Athletes

    In a settlement with California, The Gatorade Co. has agreed to stop suggesting that drinking water harms athletes. California v. Gatorade Co., No. BC676734 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty., entered September 21, 2017). Gatorade launched a mobile game featuring Usain Bolt that featured the runner speeding up when he ran over the Gatorade logo…

  • Federal Court Dismisses Energy Cookie Suit

    An Illinois federal court has dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit alleging that Mondelez International falsely advertises Belvita breakfast biscuits and cookies as providing “four hours of nutritious steady energy.” Spector v. Mondelez Int’l, No. 15-4298 (E.D. Ill., entered September 27, 2017). The court held that the plaintiff failed to allege plausible facts to support her…

  • Court Denies Certification in Tito’s “Handmade” Suit

    A New York federal court has denied class certification to a plaintiff alleging that Fifth Generation, Inc. falsely advertised Tito’s Handmade Vodka, ruling that the plaintiff failed to propose a model to measure the alleged price premium. Singleton v. Fifth Generation, Inc., No. 15-474 (N.D.N.Y., entered September 27, 2017). The court noted that the plaintiff…

  • NAD Recommends French’s Discontinue “Greatest Tasting Ketchup” Ads

    The National Advertising Division (NAD) has recommended that French’s Food Company pull Facebook and print advertising claiming that its ketchup and mustard products are “better” than their competitors, preferred by children and free from high-fructose corn syrup. NAD found that French’s was unable to substantiate several claims—“Tastier Meals,” “Greatest Tasting Ketchup” and “America’s #1 mustard…

  • NAD Rules Ragú Sauce Provided “Reasonable Basis” for Customer Preference Ad Claim

    The National Advertising Division (NAD) has ruled that Mizkan America, Inc. provided a reasonable basis for its advertising claim that “consumers prefer the taste of Ragú Homestyle Traditional over Prego Traditional.” The Campbell Soup Co., which makes Prego, challenged the ad on the grounds that Mizkan’s consumer survey methodology was flawed. Both parties conducted a…

  • Gates Calderon Joins FDLI Conference Panel to Discuss Plant-Based Foods

    Partner Katie Gates Calderon was a panelist at the Food and Drug Law Institute (FDLI) Food Advertising, Labeling and Litigation Conference in Washington, D.C., September 13-14, 2017. She joined Jessica Almy, policy director at The Good Food Institute, and moderator Stuart M. Pape of Polsinelli PC in a discussion of “Naming of Plant-Based Food Products…

  • Ad Board Recommends Against Gimmick-Exposing Campaign

    The National Advertising Division (NAD) has recommended that Sanderson Farms change a campaign claiming that its competitors are tricking consumers with “raised without antibiotics” labels on poultry products. NAD found that the information in Sanderson’s ads was accurate, including its claim that “none of the chicken you buy in the grocery store has antibiotics in…

  • Lawsuit Challenges Sanderson Chicken’s “All Natural” Claims

    Sanderson Farms, Inc.’s “all natural” chicken contains pesticides, antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals, according to a lawsuit filed by the Center for Food Safety, Friends of the Earth and Organic Consumers Association. Organic Consumers Ass’n v. Sanderson Farms, No. 17­-3592 (N.D. Cal., filed June 22, 2017). The plaintiffs allege that Sanderson’s chicken products are advertised as “100%…