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The FTC alleged that Facebook violated the law by failing to protect data from third parties, serving ads through the use of phone numbers provided for security, and lying to users that its facial recognition software was turned off by default. Facebook will pay $5 billion — the second-largest fine ever levied by the FTC — and agree to a series of new restrictions on its business. https://wjla.com/news/nation-world/facebook-is-oversharing-data-privacy-zuckerberg-social-media

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BMW launched "Project AI" in 2018 to insure they had AI that was ethical.  They have 7 principles that cover the development and application of their AI. This adds value to their expensive product. https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/10/20201013-bmw.html

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Cinnabon posted a Star Wars related post when Carrie Fisher died. They were using her death to sell products. Using someone's death to appear as an endorsement is considered in poor taste.

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In 2012 Skechers reached a $40 million settlement over making scientifically unfounded claims about their Shape-Up Shoes. They claimed that the shoes would replace the need to work out or go to the gym.

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Approximately five years ago, Kellogg claimed that “Eating a bowl of Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal for breakfast is clinically shown to improve attentiveness by nearly 20%.”  They also settled similar claims they made that were untrue on Rice Krispy cereal boxes. This was a false claim that did not have any research behind it.

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In 2020, Burger King released a new advertisement in which you can "summon" Ronald McDonald. All you do is go to the bathroom and say canceled clown and Ronald McDonald would appear in the mirror.
https://www.businessinsider.com/burger-king-halloween-ronald-mcdonald-cancelled-clown-2020-10

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In 2009 during a bad swine flu time kellogs claimed that there cereal now helps provide immunity. Not just that It also claimed the cereal provided 25 percent of the daily recommended amount of antioxidants and nutrients.

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In 2013, Naked Juice was involved in a lawsuit saying that it falsely advertised some of its juice and smoothies as "all natural". The company was not officially proven wrong but they still had a $9 million settlement fund for consumers. Naked Juice was forced to remove the term “all natural” from all products.

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In 1993, Pepsi ran a lottery in the Philippines, stating that if you got the correct number on your bottle cap, you'd win $40,000. Turns out, more than one person got the right number. 800,000 people did. Pepsi refused to pay every winner and the campaign was a disaster in the Philippines.

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McDonalds usually has a seasonal Monopoly event going on. on the packaging of their cartons and cups you can find stamps that you peel off to win things. Most people think they're usually so close to winning the item...But there's a dirty trick. The last stamp you need to win is always the rarest for everyone. Leaving everyone looking for it and buying more McDonalds.
https://www.kelownanow.com/watercooler/news/news/Food_Drink/McDonald_s_Monopoly_is_back_and_these_are_the_rare_pieces_AKA_the_only_ones_that_matter/

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In 2018 snapchat included an add for the game that made them lose $800 million in market value. The question was would you rather slap Rhianna or slap Chris Brown.

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Red Bull was sued in 2014 for its slogan, "Red Bull gives you wings". The company settled the class-action case by agreeing to pay out a maximum of $13 million. Beganin Caraethers was one of many consumers who brought the case against the company, claiming that even after consuming Red Bull regularly for ten years, he had not yet developed "wings". This is a negative example of advertising because it resulted in a company being sued for ultimately failing to deliver what it said it would.
https://www.businessinsider.com/red-bull-settles-false-advertising-lawsuit-for-13-million-2014-10

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In 2013, Sears advertised 100% pure bamboo fabric in some of their clothing products. Sears wasn't actually using any bamboo in the advertised clothing, it was actually found to be made of rayon, manufactured using toxic chemicals known for its hazardous byproducts. This looks bad on behalf of Sears for lying about what their products are made of.

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How could any drink have zero callories besides water. Well they cant Coca Cola Zero lied when it said that it had no calories on its drink but that jus means theres below 5

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IHOP wanted to start serving lunch and breakfast to they announced on their Twitter that they'd be changing their name to IHOB. This generated a massive amount of publicity. This led to people going to IHOB more and more. Eventually they changed their name back but kept the lunch menu.
https://blog.hootsuite.com/marketing-stunts-that-worked/

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DiGiorno received a lot of backlash over using a very serious hashtag dealing with domestic violence to promote their pizza. This was negative because they did not show empathy to the victims at all or contribute to the movement in a positive way. They followed up this tweet with an apology, saying they did not check the hashtag before posting.

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In 2017 Pepsi took down their ad which created major controversy. They were accused of trivializing Black Lives Matter. Consumers were very upset by this commercial and lost some trust in Pepsi.

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Pepsi Pulls Ad Accused of Trivializing Black Lives Matter (Published 2017)

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The beverage company apologized for an ad featuring Kendall Jenner giving a smiling officer a soda at a protest.

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In 2014, Snapchat was caught being dishonest about the extent to which they collect data on its users. They also had a security breach earlier that year which leaked personal information of millions of users. Snapchat is known for having its disappearing messages, but when those message and pictures end up in a data bank, that creates distrust towards the company.

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Airborne advertised that its formula could prevent colds and the flu by “boosting your immune system and combatting germs”. There was no scientific proof to these statements and after research, these claims were found to be false. Airborne was forced to pay $23 million in a lawsuit.

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In 2011, New Balance was accused of false advertising in over a sneaker range that it claimed could help wearers burn calories. The toning sneaker claimed to use hidden board technology and was advertised as calorie burners that activated the glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves.

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Kellogg agrees to stop advertising their brand as a "healthy" option after multiple scandals.

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A $31 million settlement in a California lawsuit will force Kellogg to significantly change its marketing.

Kellogg, one of the county's top cereal companies, has agreed to stop using misleading terms such as "healthy," "nutritious," and "wholesome" to promote products like Frosted Mini-Wheats.

On Monday, the Battle Creek, Michigan-based corporation, officially known as The Kellogg Company, entered into a settlement agreement with a class of five plaintiffs in California and New York, who alleged Kellogg used deceptive health and wellness claims to market high-sugar cereals and breakfast bars.

The settlement, which was granted preliminary approval by a federal court judge in the Northern District of California, requires the company to stop using a handful of familiar phrases, and pay over $20 million to members of the public who claim they were victims of false advertising. The parties agreed to settle after three years of litigation and just a few months away from trial.

Kellogg isn't the first company to suffer this fate. Health claims are lightly regulated. Almost anything, even Spam , can be "natural." Increasingly, consumer advocates and class action suits are pushing back on these nebulous claims in court-and winning. (Kellogg declined to comment for this article.)

Stephen Hadley, a resident of Monterey, California, sued Kellogg on August 29, 2016, claiming it misrepresented Raisin Bran, Frosted Mini-Wheats and Smart Start cereals, as well as Nutri-Grain breakfast bars, as "healthy," "nutritious" or "wholesome," and packaged the products to suggest they promoted bodily health, disease prevention and weight loss.

Raisin Bran was marketed as "the deliciously heart healthy way to start your day," even though it contained 18 grams of added sugar per serving-which represents almost 40 percent of its calories.

The company did this, Hadley alleges, by highlighting certain product ingredients-like fiber, whole grains, and "real fruit"-and using misleading language.

One such example: Hadley alleged that Frosted Mini-Wheats and Smart Start cereals were promoted as "lightly sweetened," even though the products contain as much as 19 grams of added sugar per serving. That far exceeds the daily sugar intake recommended by the American Heart Association .

Similarly, Raisin Bran was marketed as "the deliciously heart healthy way to start your day," even though it contained 18 grams of added sugar per serving-which represents almost 40 percent of its calories.

"Contrary to Kellogg's representations," Hadley alleged, the regular consumption of those cereals is "likely to contribute to cardiovascular and metabolic disease, thereby harming health."

Raisin Bran drew particular ire in Hadley's complaint-he alleged that a Kellogg website claimed the cereal was healthier than a meal of salad, multi-grain toast, and blueberries because it contained more fiber.

He also accused Kellogg of "deceptively suggesting" that Nutri-Grain bars were healthier than other cereal bars because they didn't have high-fructose corn syrup-even as Kellogg used the sweetener in other foods, with the "constituent parts merely separated in the ingredient list."

Hadley combined his case with a similar complaint filed on behalf of four plaintiffs in New York earlier this year.

Under the settlement, a number of familiar phrases will disappear from the foods named in the lawsuit: Raisin Bran, Frosted Mini-Wheats, Smart Start, Crunchy Nut and Krave cereals, and Nutri-Grain bars.

The company can no longer advertise certain products, where added sugars represent at least 10 percent of calories, as "healthy." Nor can it promote them with phrases like "start with a healthy spoonful" or "invest in your health." The company can use the word, which is infamously nebulous , only in connection with a claim about a specific nutrient.

Nor will they be marketed as "wholesome," "nutritious," or "beneficial." Those terms can be used to describe only a specific nutrient or ingredient-in a phrase like "contains nutritious whole grain wheat."

Furthermore, Frosted Mini-Wheats and Smart Start will no longer be "lightly sweetened," and Smart Start won't be "heart healthy." That phrase will be banished to the bottom and reverse sides of Raisin Bran cereal boxes.

Besides these marketing changes, Kellogg will have to pay millions to a class of consumers-anyone who bought those products since August 29, 2012. According to the settlement, which also includes $11 million in injunctive relief, consumers can receive as much as $20 in vouchers to buy Kellogg's products, and $10 in cash, per person. Under the deal, the company will set aside about $12 million in cash and over $8 million in vouchers. They won't be handed out until early next year.

Get a weekly dish of features, commentary and insight from the food movement's front lines.

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Kellogg agrees to stop marketing sugary cereals as "healthy"

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A $31 million settlement in a California lawsuit will force Kellogg to significantly change its marketing. Kellogg, one of the county's top cereal companies, has agreed to stop using misleading terms such as "healthy," "nutritious," and "wholesome" to promote products like Frosted Mini-Wheats.

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Fitness app Polar exposes the personal data of US Military and security personnel

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Fitness app Polar exposes the personal data of US Military and security personnel

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Polar, a popular fitness app used by many in the military as well as the NSA and the Secret Service, came under scrutiny in 2018 after it was discovered that researchers were easily able to track users' names, heart rates, and where they lived. This is a negative example of data collection and privacy practices because it resulted in the breach of individuals' sensitive personal information.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/fitness-app-polar-exposed-locations-of-spies-and-military-personnel/

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Sephora uses AI to interact with consumers. They use a chatbot to help consumers shop for the right beauty product. This is a positive aspect of AI because it helps customers. Sephora’s engagement on this AI chatbot boosted the customer service experience.

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In 2015, Volkswagen falsely advertised environmentally friendly diesel cars. A lawsuit was filed against them which claimed that the car company had deceived customers with the advertising campaign which promoted that their diesel vehicles were clean. Later, it was exposed that VW had been cheating emissions test on the diesel cars in the US for the past 7 years

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VW falsely advertised environmentally friendly diesel cars.

On March 29 this year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against Volkswagen, which claimed that the car company had deceived customers with the advertising campaign it used to promote its supposedly "Clean Diesel" vehicles, according to a press release.

In 2015, it was exposed that VW had been cheating emissions tests on its diesel cars in the US for the past seven years.

The FTC alleged that "Volkswagen deceived consumers by selling or leasing more than 550,000 diesel cars based on false claims that the cars were low-emission, environmentally friendly."

On top of potential fines for false advertising, the company could have to pay out up to $61 billion for violating the Clean Air Act, according to Wired.

Activia yogurt said it had "special bacterial ingredients."

Ads for Dannon's popular Activia brand yogurt landed the company with a class action settlement of $45 million in 2010, according to ABC News. The yogurts were marketed as being "clinically" and "scientifically" proven to boost your immune system and able to help to regulate digestion.

The Activia ad campaign, fronted by actress Jamie Lee Curtis, claimed that the yogurt had special bacterial ingredients. As a result, the yogurt was sold at 30% higher prices than other similar products. However, the Cleveland judge overseeing the case said that these claims were unproven.

The lawsuit against Dannon began in 2008, when consumer Trish Wiener lodged a complaint. On top of the fine of $45 million, Dannon was ordered to remove "clinically" and "scientifically proven" from its labels, according to ABC.

Phrases similar to "clinical studies show" were deemed permissible. Dannon denied any wrongdoing and claimed it settled the lawsuit to "avoid the cost and distraction of litigation."

Red Bull said it could "give you wings."

Energy drinks company Red Bull was sued in 2014 for its slogan "Red Bull gives you wings." The company settled the class action case by agreeing to pay out a maximum of $13 million - including $10 to every US consumer who had bough the drink since 2002.

The tagline, which the company has used for nearly two decades, went alongside marketing claims that that the caffeinated drink could improve a consumer's concentration and reaction speed.

Beganin Caraethers was one of several consumers who brought the case against the Austrian drinks company. He said he was a regular consumer of Red Bull for 10 years, but that he had not developed "wings," or shown any signs of improved intellectual or physical abilities.

Red Bull released this statement following the settlement:

Red Bull settled the lawsuit to avoid the cost and distraction of litigation. However, Red Bull maintains that its marketing and labeling have always been truthful and accurate, and denies any and all wrongdoing or liability.

Tesco was criticised for an ad in response to the horsemeat scandal, which suggested the problem affected "the whole food industry."

In 2013, UK supermarket chain Tesco was criticized after it ran a "misleading" ad campaign in the wake of its horse meat scandal, according to The Telegraph.

The supermarket had been caught selling beef contaminated with horse meat in some of its burgers and ready meals.

In an attempt to recover from the PR disaster, Tesco ran a two-page spread in national newspapers with the headline "What burgers have taught us."

In the ad, Tesco was criticized for implying that the whole meat industry was implicated in the horse meat fiasco, which was untrue. The UK advertising regulator ASA banned the campaign.

Nearly £300 million ($432 million) was wiped off the value of Tesco following the horse meat scandal, according to The Guardian.

Kellogg said Rice Krispies could boost your immune system.

Kellogg's popular Rice Krispies cereal had a crisis in 2010 when the brand was accused of misleading consumers about the product's immunity-boosting properties, according to CNN.

The Federal Trade Commission ordered Kellogg to halt all advertising that claimed that the cereal improved a child's immunity with "25 percent Daily Value of Antioxidants and Nutrients - Vitamins A, B, C and E," stating the the claims were "dubious."

The case was settled in 2011. Kellogg agreed to pay $2.5 million to affected consumers, as well as donating $2.5 million worth of Kellogg products to charity, according to Law360.

Later, Kellogg said Mini-Wheats could make you smarter.

In 2013, Kellogg was in even more trouble. The company agreed to pay $4 million for false advertising claims it made about Frosted Mini-Wheats. The cereal company had falsely claimed that the Mini-Wheats improved " children's attentiveness, memory and other cognitive functions," according to Associated Press. The ad campaign claimed that the breakfast cereal could improve a child's focus by nearly 20%.

In its defense, Kellogg said that the ad campaign ran four years previously and that it had since adjusted its claims about the cereal. Kellogg also noted that it "has a long history of responsible advertising."

People who consumed the cereal during the time the ad ran (January 28, 2009 to October 1, 2009) were allowed to claim back $5 per box, with a maximum of $15 per customer, according to Associated Press.

New Balance said its shoe could help wearers burn calories.

New Balance was accused of false advertising in 2011 over a sneaker range that it claimed could help wearers burn calories, according to Reuters. Studies found that there were no health benefits from wearing the shoe.

The toning sneaker claimed to use hidden board technology and was advertised as calorie burners that activated the glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit claimed to have been harmed and misled by the sneaker company.

On August 20, 2012, New Balance agreed to pay a settlement of $2.3 million, according to The Huffington Post.

Lumos Labs said Luminosity could help prevent Dementia.

In January 2016, the makers of popular brain-training app Luminosity were given a $2 million fine from the Federal Trade Commission, which said the company deceived players with "unfounded" advertising claims.

The app company made false claims about being able to help prevent Alzheimer's disease, as well as aiding players to perform better at school, the FTC found. Luminosity said in its ads that people who played the games for more than 10 minutes, three times a week would release their "full potential in every aspect of life," according to Time.

Jessica Rich, a director at the FTC said: ""Lumosity simply did not have the science to back up its ads."

Airborne claimed it could help ward off harmful germs.

Herbal supplement Airborne was a national hit throughout the 1990s. Marketing of the product claimed that it helped ward off harmful bacteria and germs, preventing everyday ailments like the flu and common cold.There were no studies to support Airborne's effectiveness claims that met scientific standards - so the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) got involved.

However, there were no scientific studies to support Airborne's effectiveness claims that met scientific standards - so the Center for Science in the Public Interest got involved.

The high-profile scandal ended with a huge settlement, with Airborne having to pay $23.3 million in the class-action lawsuit, and an additional $7 million settlement later, according to NPR.

Wal-Mart falsely advertised the price of Coke in New York.

Wal-Mart agreed to pay more than $66,000 in fines, after over-charging customers from 117 stores in New York for Coca-Cola. The supermarket chain had advertised a nationwide sale on the soft drink in 2014, where 12-packs would cost just $3.oo.

However, customers in New York State were charged $3.50. Wal-Mart staff allegedly lied about the reasons for the price-hike, telling customers that New York has a "sugar tax," according to Corporate Crime Reporter.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who conducted the investigation, concluded the price violated New York State's General Business Law 349 and 350.

Definity eye cream re-touched a model in an anti-aging ad.

In 2009, an Olay ad for its Definity eye cream showed former model Twiggy looking wrinkle-free - and a whole lot younger than her then-60 years. It turned out the ads were retouched, according to The Guardian.

The British advertising regulator ASA banned the ad, after Liberal Democrat lawmaker Jo Swinson gathered more than 700 complaints against it. The digitally-altered spots were deemed to give a "misleading impression of the effect the product could achieve."

Olay's parent company Procter & Gamble responded that it was "routine practice to use post-production techniques to correct for lighting and other minor photographic deficiencies before publishing the final shots as part of an advertising campaign."

Hyundai and KIA over-advertised its cars' horsepower.

Hyundai agreed to pay more than $85 million in a settlement in 2004, after it overstated the horsepower of cars imported to the US, according to Consumer Affairs. The class action lawsuit was on behalf of around 840,000 people who bought the 1996 to 2002 models of the Hyundai Elentra sedans and the Tiburon sport coupes.

In 2001, the Korean Ministry of Construction and Transportation had uncovered the misrepresentation, which, for some models, overstated horsepower by 10%.

The class action lawsuit was brought in southern California in September 2002. After it was settled in 2004, Hyundai sent letters offering prepaid debit cards to affected owners. They were worth up to $225.

Extenze claimed it could extend penis length.

The maker of penis enlargement pill Extenze agreed to pay $6 million to settle a class action lawsuit in 2010, according to CBS. Extenze had claimed its pills were "scientifically proven to increase the size of a certain part of the male body" in notorious late night TV commercials.

Extenze agreed to pay $6 million to settle a false advertising class action lawsuit. CBS noted that its website was also updated to say: "These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Extenze is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease."

Splenda said it was "made from sugar."

The Sugar Association asked for an investigation into alternative sweetener Splenda's "Made from Sugar" slogan. It complained that the tagline was misleading, and that the sweetener is nothing more than "highly processed chemical compound made in a factory," CBS reported.

In 2007, a resulting lawsuit led by the makers of rival sweetener Equal, settled against Splenda. Equal was looking for $200 million from Splenda in the settlement for unfair profits. However, the exact amount of the settlement remains confidential, according to NBC.

L'Oreal claimed its skincare products were "clinically proven" to "boost genes."

In 2014, cosmetics company L'Oréal was forced to admit that its Lancôme Génifique and L'Oréal Paris Youth Code skincare products were not "clinically proven" to "boost genes" and give "visibly younger skin in just seven days," as stated in its advertising.

According to the FTC, the claims were "false and unsubstantiated."

In the settlement, L'Oréal USA was banned from making claims about anti-aging, without "competent and reliable scientific evidence substantiating such claims," the FTC said. Though L'Oreal escaped a fine at the time, each future violation of this agreement will cost the company up to $16,000.

Eclipse said its gum could kill germs.

Eclipse gum claimed in its ads that its new ingredient, magnolia bark extract, had germ-killing properties.

A lawsuit brought by consumers alleged that the ads were misleading, according to Businessweek. Wrigley denied wrongdoing, but was ordered to pay more than $6 million to a fund that would reimburse consumers up to $10 each for the misleading product, in 2010.

Classmates.com was accused of tricking users into paying to respond to friends, who weren't actually on the site.

Millions of people lit up when Classmates.com sent them an email saying old friends were trying to contact them, promising to rekindle old friendships and flames if subscribers upgraded to a "Gold" membership.

But with the upgrade, the expected reunions never came. It turns out the social networking site used the ploy to get users to give up extra dollars. In 2008, one miffed user filed a suit alleging the "deceptive" emails were false advertising. Classmates.com eventually agreed to pay out a $9.5 million settlement -$3 for every subscriber who fell for the dirty trick - to resolve the case, according to the Business Journal.

However, the website did not learn from its mistakes and in 2015 it was given another $11 million in fines, according to Consumer Affairs.

A lawsuit alleged that Taco Bell was falsely advertising its beef.

In 2011, consumers raised questions about what constituted Taco Bell's "seasoned beef."

According to the lawsuit reported in AdAge, the "seasoning" used was oat filler - which means the meat isn't seasoned beef at all, according to USDA standards. The suit alleged that the franchise had been tricking its consumers into thinking its products were of a higher grade than they actually were.

Taco Bell took the opportunity to poke fun at itself, hoping to mitigate the PR disaster. The company even took out a full-page newspaper ad thanking complainants for suing. Taco Bell was vindicated and the lawsuit was withdrawn in April 2011, according to Associated Press.

More: Features Advertising

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18 false advertising scandals that cost some brands millions

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VW falsely advertised environmentally friendly diesel cars. On March 29 this year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against Volkswagen, which claimed that the car company had deceived customers with the advertising campaign it used to promote its supposedly "Clean Diesel" vehicles, according to a press release.

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Mercedes-Benz USA sent out a tweet poking fun at an apparently lackluster Super Bowl, which was ironic considering that it took place in a stadium that they paid $324 million to name. They later realized that maybe it's not the best idea to be indirectly trash-talking your own brand, and the tweet was removed. This is a negative example of social media practices because it's unprofessional as well as potentially damaging to a company's image.

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Sears had been falsely advertising a clothing line in which claimed that it was 100% pure bamboo products, but did not withhold any bamboo. In 2014 Sears agreed to pay $475,000 to remove the false advertising from the clothing line

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Advertisements and packaging increase consumer awareness of a product and provide information so that customers can make educated choices. Often, however, marketing strategies are focused more on raising sales than providing accurate product information.

The Federal Trade Commission handles numerous cases each year as part of its goal to protect consumers from unfair or deceptive practices. Last year, the FTC ruled that advertisements and packaging of various lines of clothing from a number of companies - including Sears US:SHLD , Amazon.com , and Macy's - were misleading and unsubstantiated.

This incident is among recent confrontations companies have faced. Regulators, customers and advocacy groups have especially targeted "all-natural" labeled foods. The growth in such labeling is not surprising given the spike in demand for so-called "natural" products in recent years. Other products under scrutiny have ranged from shoes to cars. Based on recent FTC and media reports, 24/7 Wall St. has reviewed the most misleading product claims:

1. Sears' Bamboo fabric

Parent Company: Sears

Ad changed: yes

Settlement Amount: $475,000

Sears Holdings agreed to pay $475,000 and remove false advertising from its line of "100% pure bamboo" products, which were anything but. Sears was fined the most out of several large companies that agreed to pay fines totaling nearly $1.3 million for violating for violating the Textile Products Identification Act. The FTC charged the companies for labeling clothing products as made of bamboo, when they were actually made of rayon. While using bamboo to make clothing is arguably "green," rayon - a synthetic cellulose fiber - is manufactured using toxic chemicals in a process known for its hazardous byproducts, the FTC noted. These companies had previously received warnings from the FTC in 2010 but did not alter their marketing strategies until last year, when the settlement was reached.

2. Vibram FiveFinger

Parent Company: Vibram USA

Ad changed: Yes

Settlement Amount: $3.75 million

So-called minimalist running gear has gained popularity in recent years, most notably the Vibram FiveFinger shoe, a closefitting mimicry of the bare foot. The FiveFinger shoe's initial reception was lukewarm. The glovelike shoe was simply too weird for many Americans. Since then, the market for minimalist shoes has boomed, due in part to the success of author Christopher McDougall's best-selling book, "Born to Run," which touted the benefits and freedom of barefoot running. While the best-selling book did not explicitly endorse FiveFinger shoes, Vibram sales soared after the book was released in 2009. However, following a recent settlement, Vibram has agreed to stop making any claims that its shoes strengthen muscles or prevent injuries, and has agreed to refund customers who bought its shoes. In its settlement, the company noted "Vibram expressly denied and continues to deny any wrongdoing alleged in the Actions, and neither admits nor concedes any actual or potential fault, wrongdoing or liability."

3. Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats

Parent Company: Kellogg

Ad changed: Yes

Settlement Amount: $4 million

Approximately five years ago, Kellogg claimed that "Eating a bowl of Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal for breakfast is clinically shown to improve attentiveness by nearly 20%." While Kellogg did not admit to false advertising, it did create a $4 million fund last year to reimburse misled customers who bought the cereal between January 2008 and October 2009. The agreement was part of a settlement in a class-action lawsuit charging Kellogg with false advertising. The company settled similar accusations in the past, when the FTC charged Kellogg with misleading health claims on its Rice Krispies cereal. Cereal boxes at that time claimed the food would boost immunity and provide essential portions of healthy nutrients.

4. Snapchat

Parent Company: Snapchat

Ad changed: Yes

Settlement Amount: N/A

Snapchat is a smartphone application designed to send disappearing photos, or "snaps," to friends. The FTC, however, charged the company for misleading consumers into believing the photos would actually disappear forever, when there are actually a number of simple ways to preserve the snaps. The FTC also accused the company of misrepresenting the extent to which it collected personal information, including geolocation data. This is not the first misstep for the company. Earlier this year, Snapchat leaked the phone numbers and names of millions of users. The incident was particularly embarrassing for the company as it dismissed a security warning it received shortly before the leak. In January, Snapchat finally apologized for the fiasco, detailing how it would prevent further abuse of its application.

5. Kashi

Parent Company: Kellogg

Ad changed: Yes

Settlement Amount: $5 million

Earlier this month, Kellogg agreed to stop including terms such as "nothing artificial" and "all natural" on its Kashi brand of products. The agreement was part of a $5 million settlement filed at the beginning of May. The class action lawsuit accused Kellogg of misleading its customers with claims that its Kashi line of cereal contained "all natural" ingredients. The FDA currently has a vague definition of the term "natural." According to the FDA, "From a food science perspective, it is difficult to define a food product that is 'natural' because the food has probably been processed and is no longer the product of the earth." Kashi cereal contains pyridoxine hydrochloride, calcium pantothenate, and hexane-processed soy. According to the New York Times, "such ingredients do occur naturally," but food companies often use synthetic versions of the ingredients.

6. Emergen-C

Parent Company: Alacer Corporation

Ad changed: Yes

Settlement Amount: $6.4 million

Alacer Corporation reached a $6.5 million settlement late last year with plaintiffs over its claims that its Emergen-C vitamin C supplement boosts energy, the immune system and metabolism. While vitamin C is a necessary component of a healthy diet, its effectiveness in preventing the common cold is still controversial after decades of scientific research. In fact, too much vitamin C can cause several side effects, including diarrhea, nausea and stomach cramps, according to the National Institutes of Health. Anyone who purchased Emergen-C in the U.S. between June 1, 2006 and Feb. 27, 2012 could have claimed reimbursement before the end of March.

7. Nissan Frontier

Parent Company: Nissan North America

Ad changed: Yes

Settlement Amount: N/A

In one of Nissan North America commercials, Nissan's Frontier pickup truck was seen as pushing a dune buggy up a steep hill in a desert setting. The FTC objected because the truck was not actually capable of doing what the commercial showed. Nissan's ad agency, TBWA Worldwide, later admitted the commercial was altered to make it appear that the incline was steeper than it actually was, and that the truck was actually being pulled up the hill by cables. While Nissan and TBWA did not claim, either verbally or in print, that the pickup truck could perform such a feat, the FTC ruled the visual depiction was enough to warrant misleading advertising. The FTC prohibited Nissan from "Misrepresenting any material quality or feature of a pickup truck through the depiction of a test, experiment, or demonstration."

8. E.K. Ekcessories

Parent Company: E.K. Ekcessories

Ad changed: Yes

Settlement Amount: N/A

Like many companies, E.K. Ekcessories used patriotism as a marketing tool. The Utah-based company sells outdoor accessories such as iPhone cases and bottle holders. The company boasted that many of its products were "Made in the U.S.A." or "Truly Made in the U.S.A. Our source of pride and satisfaction abounds from a true made in the U.S.A. product." The claim, however, wasn't true, as many of the company's products were actually manufactured abroad. Last October, as part of a settlement, the FTC prohibited the company from making any such claims. The settlement also required the company stop "providing deceptive promotional material to third-party retailers," as many of its products are sold in online retail stores, including Amazon.com. Lesley Fair, a senior attorney in the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, called E.K. Ekcessories' practice a "Yankee Doodle Don't" on the FTC's blog.

9. Sensa

Parent Company: Sensa Products

Ad changed: Yes

Settlement Amount: $26.5 million

Earlier this year, the FTC fined diet products company, Sensa Products, for falsely claiming its products lead to weight loss. As part of a settlement, Sensa agreed to pay the FTC $26.5 million, which will be used for Sensa customers' refunds. Sensa was particularly faulted for its claims that all dieters have to do to lose weight is to sprinkle its saltlike product on to their food. In one of its commercials, thin women in bikinis dance on a beach and sprinkle Sensa's product on foods such as ice cream, hot dogs and hamburgers, while a background voice states that all dieters have to do is "Shake, eat and lose weight." Women's high-end beauty chain, L'Occitane, was also fined $750,000 as part of the same crackdown. L'Occitane claimed that one of its creams could slim users' bodies.

Read more about "The Nine Most Misleading Product Claims" at 24/7 Wall St.

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Advertisements and packaging increase consumer awareness of a product and provide information so that customers can make educated choices. Often, however, marketing strategies are focused more on raising sales than providing accurate product information. The Federal Trade Commission handles numerous cases each year as part of its goal to protect consumers from unfair or deceptive practices.

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In 2016, Coca-Cola tweeted out a cartoon of Russia to show just how much that country loves high-fructose corn syrup-laden beverages. But they used a map of the country that comes from pre-WWII, so entire areas of the country that were annexed to Russia in the Soviet days aren't there. It led to the hashtag #BanCocaCola. And a lot of cola poured in toilets.

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In 2019, Instagram allowed an ad partner to track millions of users' data, and it caused a huge privacy problem.  This included physical locations, stories, photos, and bios, which were used to create a database of user profiles. Instagram's response was to issue a statement that they had banned HYP3R (The Ad Partner) from its platform, and that they would make changes to prevent other companies from taking advantage of its information in the same way.

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Technology
Instagram Allowed an Ad Partner to Track Millions of Users' Data, and It's a Major Privacy Problem

An Instagram marketing partner was discovered scraping profile information from millions of users.

According to a Business Insider investigation, Instagram has been allowing a San Francisco-based marketing agency, HYP3R, to flout its rules and collect information from millions of users. That includes physical locations, stories, photos, and bios, which were used to create a database of user profiles. In fact, according to HYP3R itself, the marketing firm scrapes as many as one million posts a month.

Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, has largely avoided many of the privacy scandals and scrutiny that have plagued its parent company. This revelation, however, puts that scrutiny in an entirely new light as the company seems to do little to actually enforce privacy protections designed to prevent the sort of behavior.

In Instagram's defense, it took swift action once it was presented with Business Insider's reporting, issuing a statement that it had banned HYP3R from its platform, and making a change that would prevent other companies from taking advantage of its API in the same way.

"HYP3R's actions were not sanctioned and violate our policies. As a result, we've removed them from our platform. We've also made a product change that should help prevent other companies from scraping public location pages in this way," the company told Business Insider through a spokesperson.

HYP3R is a "Facebook Marketing Partner," meaning this isn't some rogue firm acting outside the lines. It's one of Instagram's preferred partners, and though there are policies against this type of behavior, there were apparently no actual limitations on the access the marketing firm had to your private data via the API it created.

In a response to my request for comment, an Instagram spokesperson provided me with the same statement as above and stressed to me that the data scraped by HYP3R was publicly available and that HYP3R wasn't able to access private user account information.

Despite Instagram's response, it's more than a little concerning that there weren't actual technical protections that would have prevented this kind of activity. And, of course, there's the fact that this is just one more in a long list of episodes involving a Facebook-owned app and "privacy problem" in the same headline.

In no uncertain terms, we are at the point where Facebook needs an all-hand-on-deck response to what can only be described as a five-alarm fire. Any amount of trust that Facebook still had with its users is burning to the ground. Sure, the company is still profitable, but that's the problem.

These practices and lack of care with users' information largely feed that profit engine, leaving the company little incentive to do anything different. Facebook, as a platform, is fundamentally unable to protect its users' information-- because it literally exists to exploit that information.

You could argue that it's impossible to fully police the activity of the countless number of advertising and marketing partners the company has on its platforms. That may be true, but if it is, then it's time to shut the whole thing down.

Seriously.

Where else is would we say it's okay to gather a bunch of hens into a hen house, promising them a safe place to hang out, and then invite a bunch of foxes over to come and play? There's no scenario where that ends well for the hens.

Friends, we are the hens. And while we've known for a while that there was something wrong, it turns out it's a much bigger problem than we thought.

All of this is a reminder, though I've written it many times, that trust is your brand's most valuable asset. What you do to guard that trust, or betray it, makes all the difference in whether or not you get the benefit of the doubt when bad news comes.

And, as a final thought, regardless of the impact on your company's brand, there's also a more global principle of "do the right thing." Do the right thing for your customers, even when it isn't the most convenient thing for you. Protect their privacy, even when it means sacrificing some easy profits.

Do the hard work of thinking through the implications of your business practices and policies so that you don't find yourself in a situation where those practices end up in a headline about just another scandal or major problem.

It turns out that "do the right thing," usually leads to trust anyway.

Editor's Note: The article has been updated to include a response from Instagram.

According to a Business Insider investigation, Instagram has been allowing a San Francisco-based marketing agency, HYP3R, to flout its rules and collect information from millions of users. That includes physical locations, stories, photos, and bios, which were used to create a database of user profiles. In fact, according to HYP3R itself, the marketing firm scrapes as many as one million posts a month.

Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, has largely avoided many of the privacy scandals and scrutiny that have plagued its parent company. This revelation, however, puts that scrutiny in an entirely new light as the company seems to do little to actually enforce privacy protections designed to prevent the sort of behavior.

In Instagram's defense, it took swift action once it was presented with Business Insider's reporting, issuing a statement that it had banned HYP3R from its platform, and making a change that would prevent other companies from taking advantage of its API in the same way.

"HYP3R's actions were not sanctioned and violate our policies. As a result, we've removed them from our platform. We've also made a product change that should help prevent other companies from scraping public location pages in this way," the company told Business Insider through a spokesperson.

HYP3R is a "Facebook Marketing Partner," meaning this isn't some rogue firm acting outside the lines. It's one of Instagram's preferred partners, and though there are policies against this type of behavior, there were apparently no actual limitations on the access the marketing firm had to your private data via the API it created.

In a response to my request for comment, an Instagram spokesperson provided me with the same statement as above and stressed to me that the data scraped by HYP3R was publicly available and that HYP3R wasn't able to access private user account information.

Despite Instagram's response, it's more than a little concerning that there weren't actual technical protections that would have prevented this kind of activity. And, of course, there's the fact that this is just one more in a long list of episodes involving a Facebook-owned app and "privacy problem" in the same headline.

In no uncertain terms, we are at the point where Facebook needs an all-hand-on-deck response to what can only be described as a five-alarm fire. Any amount of trust that Facebook still had with its users is burning to the ground. Sure, the company is still profitable, but that's the problem.

These practices and lack of care with users' information largely feed that profit engine, leaving the company little incentive to do anything different. Facebook, as a platform, is fundamentally unable to protect its users' information-- because it literally exists to exploit that information.

You could argue that it's impossible to fully police the activity of the countless number of advertising and marketing partners the company has on its platforms. That may be true, but if it is, then it's time to shut the whole thing down.

Seriously.

Where else is would we say it's okay to gather a bunch of hens into a hen house, promising them a safe place to hang out, and then invite a bunch of foxes over to come and play? There's no scenario where that ends well for the hens.

Friends, we are the hens. And while we've known for a while that there was something wrong, it turns out it's a much bigger problem than we thought.

All of this is a reminder, though I've written it many times, that trust is your brand's most valuable asset. What you do to guard that trust, or betray it, makes all the difference in whether or not you get the benefit of the doubt when bad news comes.

And, as a final thought, regardless of the impact on your company's brand, there's also a more global principle of "do the right thing." Do the right thing for your customers, even when it isn't the most convenient thing for you. Protect their privacy, even when it means sacrificing some easy profits.

Do the hard work of thinking through the implications of your business practices and policies so that you don't find yourself in a situation where those practices end up in a headline about just another scandal or major problem.

It turns out that "do the right thing," usually leads to trust anyway.

Editor's Note: The article has been updated to include a response from Instagram.

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Instagram Allowed an Ad Partner to Track Millions of Users' Data, and It's a Major Privacy Problem

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Technology According to a Business Insider investigation, Instagram has been allowing a San Francisco-based marketing agency, HYP3R, to flout its rules and collect information from millions of users. That includes physical locations, stories, photos, and bios, which were used to create a database of user profiles.

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McDonalds is very well known for their big macs, as well as their happy meals. Part of why the happy meals are so successful is their genius packaging, by putting toys in every box. This is very smart because it makes kids want to get the meal more, making McDonalds more of a profit.

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We all know the excitement and anticipation that packaging elicits in us. But is there any packaging that takes us back to being a kid as easily as the McDonald's Happy Meal? Seeing that signature red and yellow box brings up memories and emotions quite unlike any other packaging experience. That's why we think it's unquestionably deserving of the iconic packaging title. Over its decades of existence, the Happy Meal has found ways to stay relevant, original, and seemingly involved in almost everything we do.

Original Happy Meal Box

Happy Meals originated in Guatemala in the mid-1970s. Yolanda Fernández de Cofiño-married to José María Cofiño, owner of all McDonald's franchises in the country-created the "Menu Ronald" for children, which included a hamburger, small fries and a sundae. It was such a hit that McDonald's management in Chicago jumped on the chance to develop it into a fully branded idea. Bob Bernstein envisioned a small box, made to look like a lunch pail with golden arches for handles. His creative team ran with the idea, and in 1977, the Happy Meal was born.

It became one of McDonald's signature offerings, becoming instantly recognizable and forever unforgettable in the minds of children and adults alike. In 1987, Bernstein was gifted with a full-size bronze replica of the Happy Meal box. Now that's iconic packaging.

Promotional Happy Meals

One of the smartest marketing moves McDonald's made is using the Happy Meal as a vehicle for movie and TV show tie-ins. Starting with the very first Star Trek movie in 1979 (and calling it the Star Trek Meal), it's been constantly branded with promotional materials ever since. Angry Birds, Shrek, Jurassic Park and countless other movies and entertainment properties have graced the Happy Meal box since its introduction over 40 years ago. Even today, people anticipate seeing what artwork, toys and offers each new partnership will bring.

Seasonal Happy Meals

This one probably makes everyone the most nostalgic. In one of the most original and memorable alterations of the Happy Meal, McDonald's released Halloween Happy Meal Pails in pumpkin shapes starting in 1986. Once kids were done chowing down, they'd be able to use the pails for trick-or-treating. In 1989, they altered the line-up to a pumpkin, a witch and a ghost. Over the years, these pails would be used for other seasons, and other properties, like the Minions. As with all their marketing tactics with the Happy Meal, this was a smart move, creating even more demand-and creating highly-sought after memorabilia.

Fun Fact: The 3 pumpkins available in the original line-up were named McPunk'n, McBoo and McGoblin. McWitch and McGhost were added soon after.

Toy Happy Meals

Who doesn't remember playing with plastic versions of McDonald's food in our play kitchens? Some of our earliest memories of playing around, spent imitating our parents cooking and eating, are forever tied to McDonald's Happy Meals. It was yet another smart way to reinforce the brand. Not only was there plastic food, there were transformers made to look like Happy Meal boxes and the food inside. Costumes made to look like employee uniforms were easy to find, and kiddie versions of drive-thru windows were created to usurp the standard kid-sized kitchen. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who didn't play with McDonald's or Happy Meals toys at some point in their youth. Iconic packaging. Iconic playtime.

Some packaging never finds its footing. Some is successful only through abrasive repetition. And some, like the McDonald's Happy Meal, becomes an unshakable part of our worldly experiences. We think that makes the Happy Meal a brilliant example of iconic packaging. Do you consider any specific packaging to worthy of the iconic packaging mantle? Be sure to let us know. We'd love to showcase it!

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Iconic Packaging: McDonald's Happy Meal - The Packaging Company

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We all know the excitement and anticipation that packaging elicits in us. But is there any packaging that takes us back to being a kid as easily as the McDonald's Happy Meal? Seeing that signature red and yellow box brings up memories and emotions quite unlike any other packaging experience.

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On April Fools Day Soda Stream used Game of Thrones star Thor The Mountain to introduce a fake new product, a sparkling water maker for the bath tub. This helped Soda Stream succeeded while making people laugh

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Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard

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A big marketing stunt has the potential to either make or break your business.

While a misstep could wreck your brand's reputation, a success could catapult your business into viral success. From brand awareness to driving sales, the right marketing stunt can help businesses of all sizes reach their goals.

Continue reading to discover:

How top brands have pulled off successful marketing stunts

Why being disruptive can be a good thing when it comes to your brand

Tips on embracing the bizarre in your campaigns

Bonus: Read the step-by-step social media strategy guide with pro tips on how to grow your social media presence.

IHOP

With one of the most talked about marketing stunts of 2018, IHOP showed they were more than just a pancake palace.

It all started on June 4th, 2018, when IHOP tweeted that they'd be flipping the 'P' around and changing their name to IHOb. They announced that everyone would have to wait to find out what the 'b' stood for-something that immediately got everyone guessing.

For 60 pancakin' years, we've been IHOP. Now, we're flippin' our name to IHOb. Find out what it could b on 6.11.18. #IHOb pic.twitter.com/evSxKV3QmT

- IHOP (@IHOP) June 4, 2018

After days of speculation, IHOP(b?) announced that the 'b' stood for burgers. Thanks to this campaign, IHOP not only got people associating burgers with their name-seeing word of mouth rise from 19 to 30 percent-but saw their social media popularity skyrocket.

How can your brand follow IHOP's path to success?

Do your research. You can't just launch a potentially risky campaign out of nowhere. Before making their Twitter announcement, IHOP discovered that social media conversations about pancakes had declined, while the popularity of burgers was steadily increasing. Find out what your customers are talking about online and highlight ways your business can fulfill their needs.

Build suspense. IHOP's first Twitter announcement asked their audience to stay tuned to find out what the mysterious 'b' stood for. This lent an air of speculation to the campaign and it became an engaging guessing game for the audience. Your brand can easily do this with a marketing campaign.

SodaStream

SodaStream's CEO Daniel Birnbaum says "the company is always looking for disruptive ways to create moments of joy." They definitely succeeded with their 2018 April Fool's Day campaign.

This marketing stunt had Game of Thrones star Thor "The Mountain" Bjornsson and Shahs of Sunset star Reza Farahan introduce SodaStream's (fake) new product, the SodaSoak-a sparkling water maker for the bathtub.

"The thing about SodaStream's campaigns is that they address important themes in a lighthearted and funny way that keeps a finger on the pulse of pop culture," Bjornsson explains. The approach paid off, with AdWeek reporting "this video reached many top April Fool's lists and gained brand exposure worth many millions."

What can your brand do to get on SodaStream's level?

Delight and surprise your audience. By making their commercial in classic infomercial style, there might have been a moment where SodaStream's audience questioned whether what they were seeing was real. It's always fun to give your audience something they're not expecting, so take any opportunity to surprise them with strategic whimsy.

Recognize key dates. SodaStream's campaign was for April Fool's Day, but there are key dates and celebrations happening almost every day of the year. When relevant, align your campaign to one of these dates and have fun with it.

Highlight your product. Even though the SodaSoak isn't real, the parody still presented the key capabilities of SodaStream's actual product. Even when watching a spoof, the audience was reminded that the SodaStream is able to carbonate plain tap water. In all the excitement of creating a fun campaign, don't lose sight of what makes your product or service unique.

KFC

If any brand can prove that weird works, it's KFC. Their marketing stunts have been wonderfully outlandish over the last few years, and it's a formula that works for the brand.

One of their more out-there campaigns featured a four-hour Facebook Live stream of adoptable kittens climbing on a " fabric husk of a towering model of the brand's mascot and founder Colonel Sanders."

While you might have scoffed if an employee pitched an idea like this in a meeting, more than one-million viewers tuned in to KFC's kitties.

How can you create a goldmine campaign like KFC?

Brand everything. Whether it's an ad apologizing for a chicken shortage or a cat tower livestream, KFC knows that putting their brand first and foremost works. Awareness and recall are key to your business' growth.Make sure you use any opportunity to bring your unique brand into all of your content and marketing assets.

Embrace the weird. While actually running a bizarre campaign like KFC's might not be possible for all brands, every business can embrace a quirkier approach to campaigns. Add a dash of whimsy to your campaigns where relevant.If you can't share silly content (say you're a political organization or serious government branch), you can have fun in your brainstorms, strategy sessions, or at other states of campaign development. For example, ask everyone in your brainstorm to come up with the weirdest, most outlandish idea they can-there are no bad ideas. Sometimes the best "real" ideas can come out of a free-for-all. And the worst case scenario is that your team has a laugh.

Patagonia

While brands are usually advised to avoid politics, the response to Patagonia's politically-inspired marketing stunt was so positive it crashed their site.

After the President of the United States signed two proclamations to greatly reduce protected land in the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah, Patagonia responded with images and messages reading 'The President Stole Your Land' on their website and social feed.

This is the largest elimination of protected land in American history.
Take Action: https://t.co/biZPxo7PHh#BearsEars pic.twitter.com/OqW9FHPk3Q

- Patagonia (@patagonia) December 4, 2017

What can your brand do to reach Patagonia's level of success?

Know your audience. Patagonia knows that their target customer has environmentally-friendly and eco-conscious values. The company donates a percentage of its revenue to environmental causes, uses recycled, "Fair Trade" certified in its clothing, and uses solar energy at its company headquarters. Figure out who your own brand's target audience is, and align your actions to their values.

Provide a clear call-to-action. While it would have been easy for Patagonia to post their ad and call it a day, they provide a button encouraging their audience to 'Take Action Now.' This leads to a page where visitors can sign a petition and send a pre-written tweet defending public lands. When you are launching a social media campaign of any risk level, include a CTA so your audience knows exactly what you want from them. Check out this blog post from AdEspresso for 31 clever CTA ideas.

Burger King

When it comes to brands tackling important issues, Burger King might not be the first company you think of. However, the fast-food restaurant proved they're more than capable of getting people's attention with their Whopper Neutrality stunt.

The campaign had customers ordering Whopper burgers, but receiving them at different times based on how much they were willing to pay. As AdWeek explains, this "was a scathing parallel for how the end of net neutrality could create fast and slow lanes for internet access." It became their most shared ad of all time with more than 4.5 million Youtube views alone.

What lessons from Burger King's campaign can your brand put into action?

Combine education and humor. Net neutrality is a complicated issue, but Burger King was able to explain the effects in terms anyone can understand. By making the message accessible to all-as well as humorous-they are providing crucial education for their audience. Consider how your brand can educate your target customers in a relevant way, and centre a campaign around these lessons.

Appeal to your customers' emotions. Any viewer of Burger King's ad is sent on an emotional roller coaster. From feeling empathy towards the customers in the video and frustration on their behalf, to experiencing laughter, to fear when the reality of net neutrality being repealed sets in, the content evokes plenty of emotion. Emotions play a crucial role in our ability to recall information, so they're a powerful part of many successful ad campaigns. Think about how you can stir up emotion in your audience, whether that's through humor, love, happiness, or plain old FOMO. Our blog post, Social Media and Psychology: 4 Things Marketers Need to Know, shares more ideas for including emotion in your campaigns.

Any marketing stunt has the power to strengthen-or sink-your brand. As long as you follow the lead of the successful brands above and know what you're doing, your risk can definitely pay off.
Use Hootsuite to easily promote your organic content (or boost it with advertising dollars). From a single dashboard you can schedule and publish posts, engage the audience, monitor conversations, measure performance, and much more. Try it for free today. Get Started

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5 Big Marketing Stunts That Worked and What We Can Learn From Them - Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard

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A big marketing stunt has the potential to either make or break your business. While a misstep could wreck your brand's reputation, a success could catapult your business into viral success. From brand awareness to driving sales, the right marketing stunt can help businesses of all sizes reach their goals.

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Olay advertised their under-eye cream and said that it makes you look like you would in a photo shopped picture. people started posting on social media and soon got Olay to change their claim about the product.

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The FTC sued the owner of match.com , tinder , OKcupid , PlentyOfFish , and other dating sites. The company used fake fake love interest advertisements to trick many people into purchasing the paid subscriptions - the agency also unfairly exposed consumers to the risk of fraud and engaged in deceptive and unfair practices.
This is a negative aspect because the company is stealing money from thousands of consumers with false statements and false guarantees.

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The Federal Trade Commission sued online dating service Match Group, Inc. (Match), the owner of Match.com, Tinder, OKCupid, PlentyOfFish, and other dating sites, alleging that the company used fake love interest advertisements to trick hundreds of thousands of consumers into purchasing paid subscriptions on Match.com.

The agency also alleges that Match has unfairly exposed consumers to the risk of fraud and engaged in other allegedly deceptive and unfair practices. For instance, the FTC alleges Match offered false promises of "guarantees," failed to provide services to consumers who unsuccessfully disputed charges, and made it difficult for users to cancel their subscriptions.

"We believe that Match.com conned people into paying for subscriptions via messages the company knew were from scammers," said Andrew Smith, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "Online dating services obviously shouldn't be using romance scammers as a way to fatten their bottom line."
Match Touts Fake Love Interest Advertisements, Often From Scammers
Match allows users to create Match.com profiles free of charge, but prohibits users from responding to messages without upgrading to a paid subscription. According to the FTC's complaint, Match sent emails to nonsubscribers stating that someone had expressed an interest in that consumer. Specifically, when nonsubscribers with free accounts received likes, favorites, emails, and instant messages on Match.com, they also received emailed ads from Match encouraging them to subscribe to Match.com to view the identity of the sender and the content of the communication.

(example of ad touting message)
The FTC alleges that millions of contacts that generated Match's "You caught his eye" notices came from accounts the company had already flagged as likely to be fraudulent. By contrast, Match prevented existing subscribers from receiving email communications from a suspected fraudulent account.

Many consumers purchased subscriptions because of these deceptive ads, hoping to meet a real user who might be "the one." The FTC alleges that instead, these consumers often would have found a scammer on the other end. According to the FTC's complaint, consumers came into contact with the scammer if they subscribed before Match completed its fraud review process. If Match completed its review process and deleted the account as fraudulent before the consumer subscribed, the consumer received a notification that the profile was "unavailable." In either event, the consumer was left with a paid subscription to Match.com, as a result of a false advertisement.

Consumers who considered purchasing a Match.com subscription generally were unaware that as many as 25 to 30 percent of Match.com members who register each day are using Match.com to attempt to perpetrate scams, including romance scams, phishing schemes, fraudulent advertising, and extortion scams. In some months between 2013 and 2016, more than half of the instant messages and favorites that consumers received came from accounts that Match identified as fraudulent, according to the complaint.

Hundreds of thousands of consumers subscribed to Match.com shortly after receiving communications from fake profiles. According to the FTC's complaint, from June 2016 to May 2018, for example, Match's own analysis found that consumers purchased 499,691 subscriptions within 24 hours of receiving an advertisement touting a fraudulent communication.
Match Deceived Consumers with Inconspicuous, Hard to Understand Disclosures
Online dating services, including Match.com, often are used to find and contact potential romance scam victims. Fraudsters create fake profiles, establish trusting relationships, and then trick consumers into giving or loaning them money. Just last year, romance scams ranked number one on the FTC's list of total reported losses to fraud. The Commission's Consumer Sentinel complaint database received more than 21,000 reports about romance scams, and people reported losing a total of $143 million in 2018.

The FTC also alleges Match deceptively induced consumers to subscribe to Match.com by promising them a free six-month subscription if they did not "meet someone special," without adequately disclosing that consumers must meet numerous requirements before the company would honor the guarantee.

Specifically, the FTC alleges Match failed to disclose adequately that consumers must:

Secure and maintain a public profile with a primary photo approved by Match within the first seven days of purchase;

Message five unique Match.com subscribers per month; and

Use a progress page to redeem the free six months during the final week of the initial six-month subscription period.

Unfair Billing Dispute and Failure to Provide Simple Subscription Cancellation Practices
The FTC alleges consumers often were unaware they would need to comply with additional terms to receive the free six months Match promised. As a result, consumers were often billed for a six-month subscription to Match.com at the end of the initial six months, instead of receiving the free six months of service they expected.

Due to Match's allegedly deceptive advertising, billing, and cancellation practices, consumers often disputed charges through their financial institutions. The complaint alleges that Match then banned these users from accessing the services they paid for.

Finally, the FTC alleges that Match violated the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act (ROSCA) by failing to provide a simple method for a consumer to stop recurring charges from being placed on their credit card, debit card, bank account, or other financial account. Each step of the online cancellation process-from the password entry to the retention offer to the final survey pages-confused and frustrated consumers and ultimately prevented many consumers from canceling their Match.com subscriptions, the FTC contends. The complaint states that Match's own employees described the cancellation process as "hard to find, tedious, and confusing" and noted that "members often think they've cancelled when they have not and end up with unwanted renewals."

The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the complaint was 4-0-1, with Chairman Joseph Simons recused. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

NOTE: The Commission files a complaint when it has "reason to believe" that the law has been or is being violated and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The case will be decided by the court.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357). Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.

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FTC Sues Owner of Online Dating Service Match.com for Using Fake Love Interest Ads To Trick Consumers into Paying for a Match.com Subscription

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The Federal Trade Commission sued online dating service Match Group, Inc. (Match), the owner of Match.com, Tinder, OKCupid, PlentyOfFish, and other dating sites, alleging that the company used fake love interest advertisements to trick hundreds of thousands of consumers into purchasing paid subscriptions on Match.com.

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Jamie Kern Lima is one of the founders of IT cosmetics and it is now very known and has been sold to L'Oreal for 1.2 billion. One of the main ways IT cosmetics got its boost in buyers is the advertising Jamie used  - she has rosacea on her face and with advertisement she showed that her product covers all the redness on her skin.
This is a positive impact because she showed her real skin and her real product that works and in that she was able to boost her sales.

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Facial redness is a common skin issue-and one of the most challenging to deal with when you don't have the right products. Perhaps no one knows this better than IT Cosmetics founder Jamie Kern Lima, who struggled for years to find products that truly worked to cover her acne and rosacea. "Every single morning, it would take me a long time just to get coverage," she recalls. "And if I got coverage, I would then pray it didn't crease and crack and make me look so much older throughout the day."

Unsatisfied with her options, Jamie decided to create the skin-loving solutions to these problems herself. Read on for the IT Cosmetics products she recommends to make the look of redness on skin disappear!

Apply a Soothing Moisturizer Before Anything Else

No matter what's causing your redness, your skin will thank you for applying an ultra-gentle, deeply hydrating face cream like Bye Bye Redness Sensitive Skin Moisturizer morning and night. Designed to help neutralize and soothe the look of facial redness, it's infused with skin-calming ingredients including colloidal oatmeal, aloe and cucumber.

Choose the Best Concealer for Your Type of Facial Redness

For redness around the corners of your nose and other small areas of your face, opt for a more targeted coverage solution. Bye Bye Under Eye Anti-Aging Concealer offers highly pigmented full coverage and won't crease or crack. If the redness you're seeing is the result of a breakout, you may want to try a product like Bye Bye Breakout Full-Coverage Concealer. This drying lotion and treatment concealer in one effectively covers the look of blemishes and acne and contains oil-absorbing zinc oxide, kaolin clay, witch hazel, tea tree and sulfur.

If you're dealing with rosacea, broken capillaries or another type of red-toned discoloration in larger areas of your face, choose a neutralizing, color-correcting facial cream that provides hydrating, long-lasting full coverage and is easy to blend in all over your face.

Use Setting Products Designed for Sensitive Skin

Before moving on to any other makeup you'd like to wear, it's a good idea to set your concealer with a hydrating powder (Jamie's pick is Celebration Foundation) or a makeup extending spray that's infused with skin-loving ingredients like hyaluronic acid, coconut water and aloe vera extract. This will help your concealer wear beautifully throughout the day so your redness stays covered-and all you see is beautiful-looking skin!

Want more tips from Jamie on how to cover acne, rosacea and other types of skin discoloration? Watch this.

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How To Cover Acne, Rosacea & Skin Redness - IT Cosmetics

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Facial redness is a common skin issue-and one of the most challenging to deal with when you don't have the right products. Perhaps no one knows this better than IT Cosmetics founder Jamie Kern Lima, who struggled for years to find products that truly worked to cover her acne and rosacea.

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The app collects data such as your internet address, tracks the type of device you are using, your gps position, your age and number, your photos and videos and also you payment information. There had also been a breech of when users are trying to add a photo or video to their content theyre creating they could also view another persons camera roll (pictures and videos) now many just find this crazy but it is a breech of security towards other users. This is a negative because you dont know who this information is being shown to and if it is safe.

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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has indicated the Trump administration is considering limiting U.S. users' access to the popular video-messaging app TikTok. The Chinese-owned company has faced scrutiny in Washington as concerns grow that Beijing could tap the social-media platform's information to gather data on Americans.

Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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TikTok User Data: What Does the App Collect and Why Are U.S. Authorities Concerned?

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said the Trump administration is considering limiting U.S. users' access to the video-messaging app. Here is a look at TikTok's user-data practices and the concerns officials are raising.

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Burger King’s organizational culture is based on the company’s goal of continued global growth.

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Burger King maintains an organizational culture that supports high performance among employees. A firm's organizational culture is the set of values, traditions and habits that influence the behaviors of workers. Burger King's market position as one of the biggest quick service/fast food restaurant chains in the world is partly based on its culture of performance. The company keeps employees aligned to this organizational culture to ensure a unified approach in developing human resources. Such an approach ensures that Burger King leverages the synergy achievable through unified efforts to push global business performance further.
Burger King's organizational culture puts emphasis on attitude and performance, while ensuring an enjoyable workplace and compliance to rules.
Features of Burger King's Organizational Culture

Burger King's organizational culture is based on the company's goal of continued global growth, especially following the completion of its merger with Tim Hortons in 2014. The following are the main characteristics of Burger King's organizational culture:

1. Bold and empowered

2. Accountable

3. Fun

4. Meritocratic and performance-driven

Bold and Empowered. Burger King's organizational culture empowers employees to achieve high performance. This feature of the corporate culture allows a certain degree of flexibility and autonomy among employees. Different levels of Burger King's organizational structure have their corresponding levels of autonomy. As such, the organizational culture allows Burger King to maintain the resilience needed for continued global growth.

Accountable. Burger King's employees are accountable for their actions. This characteristic of the company's organizational culture ensures that, with autonomy, employees follow the rules and face the consequences of their decisions. Thus, Burger King's organizational culture contributes to product/service consistency, while also minimizing errors or deviations in employees' actions.

Fun. This feature of Burger King's organizational culture focuses on employee morale. An enjoyable and fun workplace also reduces employee turnover, which has significant effects on the company's financial performance. Through this organizational culture, Burger King manages to attract and keep qualified workers. The company applies the fun factor through management approaches as well as benefits and incentives in the compensation system.

Meritocratic and Performance-Driven. Burger King's organizational culture encourages employees to maintain high performance. This characteristic of the organizational culture is aligned with the company's policy of using performance-based appraisals. In this way, Burger King's employees know and rightly expect that having better performance could improve their career options in the company.

Burger King's Organizational Culture: Advantages & Disadvantages

The primary advantage of Burger King's organizational culture is its support for high performance, which is emphasized through meritocracy and empowerment. The empowerment and autonomy are motivating factors for high performance among employees. The accountability characteristic also ensures that, even with autonomy and flexibility, errors and related unnecessary costs are minimized. However, while Burger King's organizational culture is strongly manifested in corporate offices, it has only limited implementation in the restaurants. This disadvantage is due to the nature of franchising. Franchisees have varying approaches to implement this organizational culture in Burger King restaurants.

References

Burger King Corporation (2015). A World Class Support System.

Burger King Corporation (2015). RBI Global MBA Leadership Program.

Cameron, K. S., & Quinn, R. E. (2005). Diagnosing and changing organizational culture: Based on the competing values framework. John Wiley & Sons.

Naranjo-Valencia, J. C., Jimenez-Jimenez, D., & Sanz-Valle, R. (2011). Innovation or imitation? The role of organizational culture. Management Decision, 49(1), 55-72.

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Burger King's Organizational Culture Characteristics - Panmore Institute

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Burger King maintains an organizational culture that supports high performance among employees. A firm's organizational culture is the set of values, traditions and habits that influence the behaviors of workers. Burger King's market position as one of the biggest quick service/fast food restaurant chains in the world is partly based on its culture of performance.

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Top Digital Marketing Strategies For Your Coffee Shops

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Top Digital Marketing Strategies For Your Coffee Shops

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There are five digital ways coffee shops try to get your money. Social media like Instagram or snapchat. The one I was most shocked by is our emails telling us all the new drinks.

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In this new season, what are your coffee shop marketing plan? What are your digital marketing strategies for your coffee shop. It's necessary for you to domesticate your plan and envision where your coffee shop will be soonest. How you promote your coffee shop to prospects really matters. It doesn't only determine the footfall you accomplish daily, it also paints the nature of comfort, and convenient your intending client will make in your coffee shop. The nature of perception they grow for your business really determine if they will come to sip some cups of coffee from you or not.

To conveniently attract clients, your marketing strategies needs to be a top-notch type. It needs to be a kind of strategy that keeps your brand on top of people's mind. So, if you're seeking alternatives to attract more people to your shop, you need to deploy the latest digital marketing techniques for coffee shops. These techniques are really trending, and you can do yourself a big favor by subscribing to them.

So what are these techniques? Because we knew you would be making such a wonderful request, we've devoted our time to compile top coffee shop digital marketing techniques you can implement to stay on top of the market. If you can invest your time to read this article to the end, you will have great insights to top secrets in this industry.

So, what are the techniques?

#1. Live Video is essential

In this modern world, capturing people attention really entails taking an innovative step. One major creative solution to entice your audience is Live video. If you can invest in loading your social media channels with quality live videos ,you're close to having high volume footfall at your coffee shop. Indeed, social media channels play a huge role in creating brand awareness and fostering a better business-consumer relationship.

According to recent statistics, up to 81 % of web users watch live videos in several social media channels. If this is the case, then incorporate live video into your marketing strategy can do lots of wonders. Few benefits of such actions include increased followers engagement, improved brand awareness, enhanced hype from clients, and lots more.

If this strategy is pleasing to you, just do the following.

1. Shoot a video of you preparing coffees and other kinds of food in your shop

2. Present your team on social media for the customer to be acquainted with them

3. Start giving reasons why people should have a taste of your new flavor.
How To Make Your Recently Launched Coffee Shop Attractive To Customers
#2. Improve Your Email List

Expanding your reach through email subscription tools is simply essential. The better the number of qualified leads you earn, the greater your chances of establishing better relationships with new prospects. There is no reason for you to be lazy about email marketing. You need to work harder in expanding your email list and getting new audiences into your email marketing funnel.

Once you've collected the list, the next action is to start reaching out to your clients. It's quite essential to offer value your audience can enjoy when they patronize you. Such an offer needs to be an unusual innovation. Take, for instance, if other coffee shops are not offering free Wi-Fi, you can comfortably include them in your marketing strategy and promote the offer through email marketing.

One way to create an innovative offer is to simply identify challenges or problems your target market is experiencing. Then, give a hint on how it can be resolved when they patronize you. Doing this keeps your coffee shop on top of prospects mind, and really, they will be eager to visit your shop.

#3. Ramp up Your Instagram Strategy

As you know, Instagram is rapidly becoming a home for many internet users. Over the years, the platform has hosted a diverse number of new followers and brands. You can increase your winning chances by showcasing the creative side of your brand on Instagram.

One great technique to ruling Instagram is to adopt the hashtag tool. Hashtags are indeed king on Instagram. They help you to be specific and target your audience accurately. If you're not using this tool, then you may be lagging behind the Instagram marketing world.

The earlier you started, the better it becomes.

Responding to other members comments and gently repost insightful content can help to increase your brand awareness and personify your Instagram account. Instagram favors users who are responsive and active. So, you need to note that aspect.

#4. leverage Interactive Content

In 2019, it's likewise critical to recollect that shoppers are not communicating a similar path with substance as they had previously. Strategies like blogging and social posts still work, yet devotees are looking for all the more captivating encounters. Moreover, offering numerous ways for individuals to devour your substance enables you to contact a greater gathering of people.

That is the place intuitive substance comes to play. Configurations, for example, tests, appraisals, reviews, and surveys are superb approaches to engage and draw in your supporters. Indeed, even as a café, you can consider imaginative thoughts where you can usethe intelligent substance in your showcasing methodology.

For instance, make a test utilizing intuitive substance apparatuses like Apeste, where clients find their "Espresso Identity Type." Alternatively, fabricate a survey getting some information about their preferred espresso or forte tea. At long last, you could build up a review to discover progressively about your shoppers and what they need to improve your own client activities.

The alternatives are perpetual with intelligent results

#5. User-Generated Content Sells!

This is a vital tool you shouldn't miss. User-generated contents is indeed a persuasive form of marketing. Testimonials, client comments, video , selfie with your products are an awesome method of attracting audience attention on Instagram.

It's has been researched and acknowledge that an approximate of 92% consumers value user-generated content than any other form of traditional marketing. So, if that be the case, then it will be important for you to start using relevant tools that support user-generated content for your brand. Notable ones include Facebook business page, google, and yelp.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

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Top Digital Marketing Strategies for Your Coffee Shops

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In this new season, what are your coffee shop marketing plan? What are your digital marketing strategies for your coffee shop. It's necessary for you to domesticate your plan and envision where your coffee shop will be soonest. How you promote your coffee shop to prospects really matters.

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On April 23, 1985, Roberto Goizueta, the CEO of Coca-Cola, introduced a new formula in an attempt to disrupt the market.

In this TV commercial, Coca-Cola marketers told about a taste test conducted by an independent research firm which showed that “more people all around the country” chose New Coke over Pepsi in a taste test:

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A lawsuit had been filed against New Balance as false advertising claims it helps you lose weight and stay healthy.

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A class action lawsuit filed against New Balance accuses the Boston-based sneaker company of false advertising in claiming its toning walking shoes burned more calories and improved health.

New Balance Toning Shoes

The lawsuit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court in Boston, calls New Balance's marketing claims that the shoes increase muscle activation and calorie burn "false, misleading, and reasonably likely to deceive the public."
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of plaintiff Bistra Pashamova and others like her who say they have been misled or harmed by the sneakers. Plaintiffs are seeking class action certification and more than $5 million in compensation.

On the New Balance website, the company says its truebalance toning sneaker, "uses hidden balance board technology that encourages muscle activation in the glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves, which in turn burns calories."

Studies cited in the lawsuit say the sneakers, which cost roughly $100, do not necessarily boost health benefits and may even lead to injury.

Lawyers for the plaintiff and New Balance did not return calls seeking comment.

(Reporting by Lauren Keiper, Editing by Greg McCune)

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Lawsuit accuses New Balance of false walking shoe ads

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A class action lawsuit filed against New Balance accuses the Boston-based sneaker company of false advertising in claiming its toning walking shoes burned more calories and improved health. New Balance Toning Shoes The lawsuit, filed Monday in the U.S.

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In a complaint filed in federal court, the FTC alleges that during this seven-year period Volkswagen deceived consumers by selling or leasing more than 550,000 diesel cars based on false claims that the cars were low-emission, environmentally friendly, met emissions standards and would maintain a high resale value.

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Nike ads are so successful because the create or use an athletes story which induces emotional branding. They are meant to evoke certain emotions that make the consumer view the product in a more meaningful way.

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In early 2013, Microsoft brought back an advertising campaign smearing their Bing search engine's largest competitor, Google. In the "Scroogled" ads, Microsoft implied that Google employees literally read every email that passed through its Gmail service. It even included a quote from Google's CEO talking about the "creepy line." Only after spending the bulk of the ad spinning Google's products did Microsoft mention its own email product,
https://www.exactdrive.com/news/negative-advertising-at-its-worst-poisoning-the-well

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In 2015 the Houston Rockets were leading the Dallas Mavericks in the western conference finals. Before the game the Rockets tweeted two emojis with a horse with a gun pointed to its head and under the tweet it said "Shhhhh. Just close your eyes. It will all be over soon."

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A federal judge ruled last week that a lawsuit against Hershey could go forward, according to an article in the Washington post. The case was filed by a consumer who claims Hershey is short-changing customers by being "misleading, deceptive and unlawful" by selling packages of candy that are only partially full

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In 2002, Starbucks released an ad called "Collapse into cool" advertising their new drinks. However, after customer saw this, they were very offended for the poster had looked liked it was mocking the 9/11 terrorist attack. Using a unfortunate historical event is a really bad taste in advertising and for this event especially is not a good advertising strategy.

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Starbucks recalled 'Collapse into Cool' promotional posters due to complaints that they contained imagery reminiscent of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

There appears to be no limit on what Starbucks will do to capitalize on the misforturnes of others.

A regular contributor to one of the online forums I participate in was appalled to walk into the Starbucks nearest the WTC site and see the attached poster on a wall. He complained to the staff and was basically told to get lost.

This is the same Starbucks that charged EMT workers $130 for water immediately following the collapse of the towers. (Note that word "collapse.")

He wrote to the group about his experience and other members across the country went to their local Starbucks and saw the poster. Many were disgusted while others didn't see what the fuss was about. Eventually, though, enough people from the group (as well as others) wrote and called to Starbucks national headquarters in Seattle that they announced last week that local stores have been instructed to take down the poster.

I not only understand what upset everyone but I think it is disgusting and between this and Starbucks' behavior on September 11, I will never go there again. What do you think?

The image shown above is indeed a promotional poster for the Starbucks Coffee Company's new TazoCitrus drinks. The posters were displayed on the walls of about 3,000 Starbucks outlets

throughout the USA and Canada beginning in April 2002, until an inquiry from a New York Post reporter who'd been contacted by someone upset that the poster's imagery was too reminiscent of the terror attacks on New York's twin towers (and a discussion of the ad's purported symbolism on ABC's "Politically Incorrect") prompted Starbucks to pull the material from their stores on June 7. (According to Starbucks the promotional posters were due to come down at the end of June anyway, although the display dates on the posters indicate they were originally intended to be kept up throughout the summer.)

Numerous companies have taken public sensitivity to the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center into account by removing images of the WTC from advertisements, promotional material, and even films, even though these items were prepared before September 11 (including Microsoft, who announced a few days after the attacks that they were removing the twin towers from their popular

flight simulator software after rumors arose that the hijackers had used copies of the program for training purposes.)

Many, however, felt that if any depiction of two similar, side-by-side objects taller than they were wide was going to be considered an unacceptable reminder of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, then "sensitivity" had run amok. Most likely the Starbucks poster would not have been viewed as anything but an image of two frosty drinks amidst a summer setting of grass, butterflies, and a dragonfly if it hadn't included the word "collapse" in its slogan, wording that was far more likely chosen for alliterative reasons than to launch a bizarre campaign to appeal to consumers by "capitalizing on the misfortunes of others."

Starbucks' statement on the issue was as follows:

Starbucks deeply regrets if this poster was in any way misinterpreted to be insensitive or offensive as this was never our intent. All retail stores in North America (United States and Canada) were instructed to pull the posters immediately and are in the process of doing so.

The Tazo Ice Blended Tea beverages represented on this particular poster are part of Starbucks blended beverage line-up that also includes Frappuccino Blended Beverages. Starbucks introduced Tazo Ice Blended Tea to accompany Frappuccino Blended Beverages. This poster is part of a larger summer campaign that includes over 30 pieces including print ads, radio ads, outdoor advertising and in-store posters.

The specific names of these beverages featured on the poster are Tazo Citrus and Tazoberry. The poster depicts product shots of the two beverages sitting on a field of green "grass" made with Starbucks signature green straws. The overall concept of the poster was to create a somewhat magical place using bright colors and fun, whimsical elements such as palm trees, dragonflies, butterflies and pinwheels. The headline "Collapse into cool, Try a new Tazo Citrus with tangerine, orange and lime." was meant to conjure up feelings of cooling off on a hot summer day.

2 August 2007

Roeper, Richard. "Starbucks Buckles Under to 9/11 Hypersensitivity."

Chicago Sun-Times. 10 July 2002.

Stern, Jared Paul and Kate Sheehy. "Starbucks Yanks Ad Mocking 9/11."

New York Post. 18 June 2002.

Associated Press. "Starbucks Pulls Posters Showing Side-by-Side Drinks."

17 June 2002.

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Starbucks' 'Collapse into Cool' Campaign

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Starbucks recalled 'Collapse into Cool' promotional posters due to complaints that they contained imagery reminiscent of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. There appears to be no limit on what Starbucks will do to capitalize on the misforturnes of others.

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Not only is Amazon in the artificial intelligence game with its digital voice assistant, Alexa, but artificial intelligence is also part of many aspects of its business. Another innovative way Amazon uses artificial intelligence is to ship things to you before you even think about buying it. They collect a lot of data about each person’s buying habits and have such confidence in how the data they collect helps them recommend items to its customers and now predict what they need even before they need it by using predictive analytics. In a time when many brick-and-mortar stores are struggling to figure out how to stay relevant, America’s largest e-tailer offers a new convenience store concept called Amazon Go. Unlike other stores, there is no checkout required. The stores have artificial intelligence technology that tracks what items you pick up and then automatically charges you for those items through the Amazon Go app on your phone. Since there is no checkout, you bring your own bags to fill up with items, and there are cameras watching your every move to identify every item you put in your bag to ultimately charge you for it.

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Honest Tea has cradle to cradle certification on its glass bottles. The certification indicates high marks in several sustainable indicators: use of reused materials, water stewardship, material safety and use of renewable energy. Numerous studies have found that the life-cycle GHG emissions of Tetra Pak is generally the lowest of packaging types.

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In 1992, PepsiCo attempted to enter the then-flourishing “new-age beverages” market with its clear, caffeine-free Crystal Pepsi. The company promoted the product as a healthy and pure diet beverage. Its $40 million advertising campaign included permission to use Van Halen’🤬 song Right Now in TV advertisements. Market tests at the time gave Crystal Pepsi such a positive outlook that Coca-Cola released Tab Clear to compete with it. While sales over the first year were a strong $470 million, many of the purchases were likely due to curiosity. Not only were consumers not convinced by Pepsi’s health angle, but many cola-drinkers expected a darker beverage. Also hurting Crystal Pepsi’s popularity: to many consumers it tasted just like original Pepsi.

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In 2013, Adidas had poorly used social media to reach out and advertise their brand. The issue related to the 2013 Boston Marathon. After the event occurred they had posted a not very friendly comment to the survivors. They then came out and publicly apologized saying that not much though was used before it posted.

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Just four years after three people were killed and over 260 more were injured when bombs exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, clothing company Adidas found itself at the centre of a social media storm following a poorly-worded marketing email that was sent to competitors of this year's event.

Some 26,492 runners who crossed the line of the gruelling sports challenge were sent a message that read: "Congrats, you survived the Boston Marathon." Some of the racers were people who were badly injured but survived the tragic events in 2013.

Because this is 2017, recipients of the email quickly began uploading screenshots of the message they had received to social media. Most notable was racer Mike Denison, who called Adidas out for what he clearly believed to be a poor choice of words. "You may want to rethink the subject line," he hinted, being sure that his 21,000 followers saw the message. They did. Many began throwing their support behind Mike and hurling insults at Adidas. Gifs of face palms and confused memes began flooding the micro-blogging site, before journalists from major online news outlets began catching wind.
"Can we use your photo on all forms of NBC platforms with courtesy of you?" asked one reporter.
Another tweet read: "I'm a reporter from AOL and would love to ask you a few questions about this tweet for our coverage," while others from publications including ABC and Business Insider also sent requests. Other racers began uploading screenshots of the email they received and before we knew it, opinions were flying on whether Adidas was right or wrong for sending the email. It made headlines around the globe and was splashed across homepages of news websites with readerships in their millions. How, in the wake of a Pepsi debacle and United Airlines blunder did Adidas get it so wrong? Were they even wrong? Did it matter either way?

Adidas had been a major sponsor of the 2017 event and before their unfortunate fiasco outraged the internet, had done everything right in terms of promoting their involvement in the event. They released a specific sports collection for the race including singlets, tights and t-shirts and even ran a successful social media campaign. #WhyIRunBoston encouraged participants to upload photos and to tell their own Boston story. According to the campaign, "everyone has a Boston story" and it was up to competitors to "make history and inspire others to do the same".

Adidas was quick to issue an apology over the email when it started making international press. They took full responsibility for the hurt they caused and said:

Because PR blunders like this seem to be a common occurrence (seriously, we're not even half way through 2017 and we've lost count of how many there have been this year), here are our tips when it comes to a mass-marketing email.

1. Know world events - Having a strong PR campaign is one thing, but you need to be aware of key events, major news stories and what's happening in the world. In the case of Adidas, the fact that the Boston Marathon was rocked by a terrorist attack just four years earlier should have been on someone's radar. Although well intended, the message of congratulations upset a large number of people, undid a lot of hard work that went into the campaign and potentially tarnished the reputation of Adidas. Something as simple as keeping a calendar of key events or dates or a skim over the day's news could prevent a "PR disaster" from happening in the first place.

2. Proof check - While it may be one person's job to send an email, it's vital to work as a team and get feedback to ensure mistakes don't happen. This could be something as simple as a spelling error or something as major as the Adidas conundrum. A second or third pair of eyes usually does the trick. If you're unsure, ask. Once you click send, there's no going back.

3. If something can go wrong, it probably will - If there's even a slight chance that someone could be offended by the way you phrase something or the way you string a sentence together, they probably will be (this is the age of social media after all). With Adidas, removing the word survived could have saved a great deal of embarrassment for the brand. At the end of the day, the purpose of the email was to push more product, and the company could have found a better way of grabbing their customer's attention.

4. Know your worth and your subject - Whether your company has hundreds of years of experience or is a new start up, know that everything you send out into the world is a reflection of your brand. In the case of Adidas, their whole campaign positioned itself around Boston Pride, but it came across like Adidas didn't know an awful lot about the Boston people or the city's history. You need to know what you're preaching if you want it to be believable.

5. Swift and sincere apology - If the worse happens, be prepared to apologise - even if you don't think you're in the wrong. Don't let pride get in the way of your brand's reputation. Adidas were actually pretty good at this, issuing a statement nearly immediately and pinning it to their social profiles. Mistakes happen, but you need to be prepared for any onslaught that might happen as a result.

If you want to chat to us more about avoiding a crisis like Adidas, don't hesitate to get in contact on 0845 4567 251 or visit our website.

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Adidas Can't Run From This Epic Marketing Mistake - Welcome to the Acceleris blog

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Just four years after three people were killed and over 260 more were injured when bombs exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, clothing company Adidas found itself at the centre of a social media storm following a poorly-worded marketing email that was sent to competitors of this year's event.

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Kellogg's cereal brand Kashi was charged by the FTC $5 million for the packaging which stated that their product had "nothing artificial" and was "all natural". The FTC looked into this and their definition of "all natural" was not the same. Kellogg then altered the labeling of the Kashi line.

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The Kellogg Company, maker of some of the country's most familiar breakfast cereals, said on Thursday that it had agreed to drop the terms "all natural" and "nothing artificial" from some products in its Kashi line as part of a settlement agreement ending a class-action lawsuit.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit, filed in 2011 in California, said the company used those terms on Kashi products that contained ingredients like pyridoxine hydrochloride, calcium pantothenate and soy oil processed using hexane, a component of gasoline.

Such ingredients occur naturally - wheat germ and flaxseed are sources of pyridoxine hydrochloride, for example - but food companies, as well as makers of vitamins, often use synthetic versions to control costs and ensure consistent supplies.

"We stand behind our advertising and labeling practices," Kris Charles, a Kellogg spokeswoman, said in a statement. "We will comply with the terms of the settlement agreement by the end of the year and will continue to ensure our foods meet our high quality and nutrition standards while delivering the great taste people expect."

The settlement, which includes a $5 million payment, comes at a time when food companies are facing a number of lawsuits over ingredients and labeling.

Consumers have sued Chobani and other companies, saying that their use of the phrase "evaporated cane juice" to describe a sweetener is simply an attempt to hide sugar. Kellogg also settled a similar lawsuit over its Bear Naked brand for $325,000.

The Food and Drug Administration has not developed a definition for the use of the word "natural" on food products. "However," the F.D.A. says on its website, "the agency has not objected to the use of the term if the food does not contain added color, artificial flavors or synthetic substances."

Kashi, once a darling of shoppers favoring organic and natural foods, has hit turbulence in recent years. Some consumers attacked it on social media in 2012 after learning that Kellogg was a big contributor to an effort that helped defeat Proposition 37, a California ballot initiative that would have required the labeling of products containing genetically engineered ingredients.

Sales of the brand had started slipping even before that controversy, and last fall, John A. Bryant, chief executive of Kellogg, told investors that Kashi had become too mainstream.

In an earnings call this month, Mr. Bryant said distribution of Kashi through grocery stores had shrunk. "There have been some retailers that are more mainstream in orientation that probably took on a bit more of Kashi than they could sustain in that sort of outlet," he said on the call.

He added that Kashi sales through retailers like natural foods stores were doing well. And despite Kellogg's opposition to labeling that would indicate whether ingredients included genetically modified organisms, the company has paid to have some Kashi products certified by the Non-G.M.O. Project. Livia M. Kiser, a lawyer who is co-head of a task force on marketing compliance at the law firm Loeb & Loeb, said in an email that she expected lawsuits like the one Kellogg was settling to continue. "Historically, companies have primarily focused on making their labels compliant with applicable government regulations," Ms. Kiser wrote. "Now, however, companies should expand their considerations to include risk and threat analysis around the descriptors and adjectives they are using to distinguish their products." Among the Kashi products listed in the original lawsuit were some of its cereal and granola bars, waffles and shakes, and some GoLean items. Kellogg would not disclose which items would lose the "all natural" or "nothing artificial" terms.

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Kellogg Agrees to Alter Labeling on Kashi Line (Published 2014)

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The Kellogg Company, maker of some of the country's most familiar breakfast cereals, said on Thursday that it had agreed to drop the terms "all natural" and "nothing artificial" from some products in its Kashi line as part of a settlement agreement ending a class-action lawsuit.

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In 2018, it was disclosed that a security researcher had discovered that  Panera Bread's website was leaking customers' records in plain text and included names, emails, physical addresses, birthdays, and the last four digits of the customer’s credit card number. At first they ignored the problem and thought it was a scam. Later the company's website was briefly taken down after a blog post addressing the problem was published.
It's unclear how many customer records were at risk. A journalist wrote that there were "millions," while Panera said there were under 10,000.

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Frosted Mini-Wheats claimed its cereal was clinically proven to improve kids’ attentiveness by nearly 20%. The FTC expressed concern over several assertions produced by Kellogg, which makes the popular breakfast item.

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Normal marketing is the way of the future, but it must be managed appropriately to be effective. Online content marketing campaigns should strive to produce measurable results in proportion to the resources committed to them.

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In 2017 PepsiCO released a commercial starring Kendall Jenner, a well known super model. The company later had to publicly apologize to their customers after receiving criticism about the way they chose to advertise their product. They chose to use the Black Lives Matter movement as a way to draw attention to their product and persuade people to think it could cause peace in that situation.

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Full Pepsi Commercial Starring Kendal Jenner

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Although lunchables is known for their easy, quick, & snack-able lunches they have recently received quite a bit of hate due to their excessive packaging. No one understands why they need that much plastic, cardboard, and even more plastic just for meat cheese and crackers.

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The Swedish branch of Pepsi created an advertisement with former football star Cristiano Rynaldo's voodoo inspired doll tied up into painful positions. They added even more by placing the doll onto what looks like train tracks. Portugal fought back with their Anti-Pepsi group attaining over 100,000 members. Pepsi had no choice but to publicly apologize for the inconsiderate marketing strategy.

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in 2016 this was a super bowl commercial of a puppy monkey baby. This went viral with 22 million view on youtube and 65 thousand mentions with the hash tag #puppymonkeybaby Some people said this was terrifying and it looked like it came from a horror movie, but others just thought it was funny. This should be looked as successful because it went super viral, and overall wasn't controversal and cause no actual problems.

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A twitter user posted a picture of whole foods single peeled oranges, each individually in a plastic container. The tweet quoted "If only nature would find a way to cover these oranges so we didn't need to waste so much plastic on them." This tweet got almost 95 thousand likes and 93 thousand retweets. Whole foods was trying to be innovative and sell peeled oranges, but they didn't take into consideration the earth. This good idea turned out to be bad marketing because it it very wasteful and got a good amount of attention.

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In January 2018, H&M was in a racism scandal caused by a printed hooded top with words "coolest monkey in the jungle." This ad was available to everyone on the British version of the online store. The parents of the model said that they didn't think the ad was racist, but many other brands still cut ties with the brand anyways. The weekend a famous singer made a statement on twitter, that he was "shocked and embarrassed, and also offended" by the photo. This was bad marketing and should have been though over by the marketing team, to avoid situations like this next time.

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Raycon has paired with many youtubers to advertise their earbuds and get many people to buy their product. Almost everyone who has been on youtube recently has seen a sponsorship by Raycon on a youtube video. It is a positive example because it is not harmful and is easy to promote new products through large platforms. Below is an image of Kendall Rae, a youtuber with over 2 million subscribers, promoting the earbuds.

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Bang Energy has sponsored many people on youtube, instagram, and even tik tok. In these videos, the people will show them drinking the drink and talk about all good things to promote Bang's product. This is positive because it is a non harmful easy way to advertise their product.

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Tesla uses AI for autopilot mode on all versions of their cars. Autopilot is ability for the car to drive for you. It is a positive aspect because it allows customers to rely on the car to prevent them from getting in bad accidents or situations.