Cartoon demonstrating some of the unfulfilled claims made by Red Bull, credits to Garrett Montgomery, TheSpreadIt.com.
Recently, energy drink supplier Red Bull faced an US class action lawsuit, agreeing to pay more than $13 millions, after being accused of misleading consumers with false advertising. The plantiff, Benjamin Careathers, a customer since 2002, argues that Red Bull deceived customers by claiming ” improvement on concentration and reaction speeds”, and that the slogan, “Red Bull gives you wings” was in fact false due to the lack of scientific backing. Consequently, Red Bull will reimburse disappointed customers a check for $10 or a voucher for $15 worth of all products, for the past ten years. Personally, I agree with many points made in tdhe INQUISTR article, such as the claim of being gifted “wings” is obviously an overexaggerated slogan accompanied by unrealistic animations. Despite the drinks being advertised on TV, Internet, social media outlets and through celebrity endorsements, one would expect any rational consumer to take everything with a grain of salt. Strangely enough, the plantiff admmitted to continuing to purchase Red Bull over an eleven year, despite it not working for him. Could this be a case of consumer laziness and the failure to critically evaluate and conduct research? We’ve learned of the importance of designing and conducting research on consumers in marketing, so in a case like Red Bull, can we start to hold consumers accountable for their (lack of) research into the products?
Works Referenced:
Matthews, Toni. “False Ad Settlement: Are Red Bull Customers Victims Or Mentally Lazy?.” The Inquisitr News. N.p., 6 Oct. 2014. Web. 8 Oct. 2014. <http://www.inquisitr.com/1523703/false-advertisement-settlement-red-bull-pay/#7wP5VlUKU0Rhu52B.99>.
Rothman, Max. “Red Bull to Pay $13 Million for False Advertising Settlement.”BevNETcom. BevNET.com, 5 Aug. 2014. Web. 9 Oct. 2014. <http://www.bevnet.com/news/2014/red-bull-to-pay-13-million-for-false-advertising-settlement>.
O’Reilly, Lara. “Red Bull Will Pay $10 To Customers Disappointed The Drink Didn’t Actually Give Them ‘Wings’.” Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 8 Oct. 2014. Web. 8 Oct. 2014. <http://www.businessinsider.com/red-bull-settles-false-advertising-lawsuit-for-13-million-2014-10>.