In the cutthroat world of advertising, getting an edge on the competitor can make the difference between a product that flies off the shelves and one that flops. Advertisers often push the boundaries when it comes to making claims about their products, but sometimes pushing the truth turns into making false claims. When a product is labeled with deceptive claims on the package, website, or sales sticker, it is a form of false advertising.

False advertising hurts consumers, and it is illegal. Major brands have been caught in false advertising schemes and been forced to pay damages. Here are examples:

• POM Wonderful:  “Cheat death” by sipping pomegranate juice? Not quite. Ads for the drink claimed that it could “help prevent premature aging, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, even cancer. Eight ounces a day is all you need.”

Foods and beverages are some of the most common culprits for deceptive labeling, so the POM Wonderful case is merely one example of hundreds of cases.

• Apple’s Siri:  Apple’s website claims that Siri “understands what you say. And knows what you mean.” Users of the company’s voice-recognition and personal assistant disagree. Class action lawsuits have been filed on behalf of consumers that allege the ad campaigns exaggerated the abilities of the software.
• Hyundai and Kia:  The Korean car makers are in double trouble for claims made about fuel efficiency and horsepower. The EPA determined that the companies overstated mpg for more than a third of its 2011-2013 models. In a separate case from 2001, the Korean Ministry of Construction and Transportation discovered that the makers overstated the horsepower of their vehicles by nearly 10 percent.

If you think you might be the victim of deceptive labeling, or any kind of consumer fraud, contact our consumer rights lawyers. At Markoff Leinberger, our attorneys represent both individual and class action plaintiffs in consumer fraud cases. Please call 312-726-4162 today to schedule a free deceptive labeling consultation.