Rachel Yang’s recent blog post “FTC rebukes Reebok Marketing in settlement” questioned Reebok’s misleading advertising in terms of corporate social responsibility. Reebok claimed that their EasyTone shoes could give the person who wears them “better legs and a better butt with every step.” This claim was later revealed to have been drawn without any scientific backing, therefore, making it a false claim. The Federal Trade Commission orders that Reebok reimburse US $25-million to consumers for its false advertising. The 25-million dollar may seem like a large portion of the company’s revenue, but it is only a short term problem for the company. Whereas the long term damage was done to Reebok’s brand image. It may take years for Reebok to remove this stain from its logo as it made a untrustworthy promise to its consumers. Any further attempt by Reebok to advertise its innovative products will be questioned for its legitimacy, because this single incident has created a new association with Reebok’s brand – liars. Businesses everywhere must learn from Reebok’s mistake and be sure to make promises that can be kept. The bigger your brand, the more exposed it is to the public eye.

Rachel’s blog post: https://blogs.ubc.ca/rachelyang/2011/10/10/ftc-rebukes-reebok-marketing-in-settlement/