Want shoes that create extra muscle in your feet? Well, you’ll have to look somewhere else other than Reebok.

The athletic shoemaker “has agreed to pay $25 million to settle charges that it made unsupported claims that its ‘toning shoes’ provide extra muscle strength, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said,” according to Reuters, citing the FTC announcement.

Reebok, a division of Adidas, had advertised that its EasyTone and RunTone shoes "strengthen and tone key leg and buttock (gluteus maximus) muscles more than regular shoes," Reuters reports. Just by walking around in a pair of these unstable shoes, one ad purported, you could tone your buttocks up to 28 percent more than regular sneakers. And that did not sit well with the FTC, which slapped the Adidas-owned brand with a formal complaint.

"The FTC wants national advertisers to understand that they must exercise some responsibility and ensure that their claims for fitness gear are supported by sound science," stated David Vladeck, head of the FTC's Consumer Protection Bureau.Continue reading...

Grocers on both sides of the Atlantic are stepping up their price wars in the face of rising food costs.

Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket chain, today launched a 200 million-pound ($324 million) campaign to let consumers know that it’s cutting the price of 1,000 everyday items. Shoppers who discover the goods at a cheaper rate at Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s Asda stores will get vouchers equal to twice the difference.Continue reading...

When Jamie Lee Curtis says "It works or it's free" and urges viewers to take the Activia Challenge, she may be promising for too much. At least, that's what the FTC thinks.

Ads such as this for Activia give consumers the impression that the yogurt, the leading US brand with probiotic ingredients, can remedy constipation in two weeks. Ads such as the one above and this for DanActive, a yogurt drink, indicate it may reduce the likelihood of getting a cold or flu.

Not so fast. FTC Jon Leibowitz chides Dannon for these claims which, he says, "are enough to give consumers indigestion. Companies like Dannon shouldn't exaggerate the strength of scientific support for their products."

In response to the FTC's concerns, Dannon has agreed to pay $21 million in a settlement that involves 39 U.S. states.Continue reading...

Apparently unfulfilled with the abuse the brand has already received in 2010, Gap has again put its reputation on the discount rack.

It seems the promotional materials for Gap's holiday anti-hunger FEED campaign (the glitzy charity founded by presidential niece and future Ralph Lauren daughter-in-law, Lauren Bush) don't match up with the actual materials.

As can be seen in the photo above (snapped by Thomas Martin, via imgur), Gap invites shoppers to "buy these limited edition bags and we'll donate $5 to our nation's school lunch programs." Topping off the patriotic promotion is a "Made in USA" logo on the bags and in-store signage.

The only problem: the limited edition bags are made in China, as indicated on the tag, circled above. The timing couldn't be worse, coming as Gap launches Project Reindeer, a social media-driven five-day holiday marketing push. Check out Bush's Gap ad for FEED after the jump.Continue reading...

When a consumer reads the tiny type on the side of a can of furniture polish, window cleaner, or air freshener, they may be puzzled, surprised, or even angry —depending on their knowledge of chemicals and additives. But these days, with increasing concern about product contents, some manufacturers are making sure consumers are well-informed.

SC Johnson & Son, a leading maker of household products such as Glade, Pledge and Windex, is taking consumer empowerment one step further. On Thanksgiving, the company will begin to air ads in which its chairman and chief executive, Herbert Fisk Johnson III (known as Fisk) will commit to disclose the ingredients of all of its household products.Continue reading...

Well, this is embarrassing.

Nike advertising is just having an off year. Sure, the shoemaker is still knocking out ads on the bleeding edge. But yet again this week, a Nike ad is coming back to bite the brand in the butt. This time it's LeBron James. Continue reading...

The above spot has a lot more to say than meets the eye. On the surface it appears to be a typical, dopey election-year attack ad in the race for the governor seat in Wisconsin.

The dirty little secret of the ad, now echoed in another case in a West Virginia race, shows how the Internet has changed advertising, especially political advertising, forever.

If you script ads and do casting calls for an agency, pay attention.Continue reading...

US Federal regulators today sued the maker of POM Wonderful, the pomegranate-based juice, claiming that its ads, such as the one above, are deceptive. As the Wall Street Journal notes, the Federal Trade Commission move comes as part of a widening effort by the US government "to clamp down on food ads that tout healthy benefits."

The FTC charges that Pom's advertisements for its Pomegranate Juice and its POMx supplements contain "false and unsubstantiated claims that their products will prevent or treat heart disease, prostate cancer, and erectile dysfunction."

The complaint is directed towards ads that say the juice has "super health powers" and claim specific health benefits, such as "proven to fight for cardiovascular, prostate and erectile health."Continue reading...