Upon reading a post from “Nadia Gunderson’s COMM 260 Blog” discussing Lululemon “maning up” and apologizing to what could possibly be false advertisement, it got me thinking of other companies who may have not been so courageous.

Since 2008, Dannon has been promoting their Activia line of yogurts as being “clinically” and “scientifically” proven to regulate digestion and boost immune systems. By promoting the health benefits and using liked and relatable women such as Jamie Lee Curtis in their advertisements, Dannon has been extremely successful with the Activia line.

Until 2010.

Dannon was sued for making false claims that the ingredients in their yogurt strengthens the immune system and helps digestion. The punishment: paying consumers up to $45 million in damages and removing words on their labels and advertisement such as “clinically”, “scientifically”, and “immunity”.

The court made their decision based on the lack of evidence Dannon has on its yogurts health benefits. Although they say that the probiotic bacteria really works to regulate the digestive system, scientists have concluded that not enough research has been done to conclude that there is a correlation.

Despite their lack of evidence, Dannon stood by their products and did not take fault, claiming they settled the lawsuit to “avoid the cost and distraction of litigation”.

Like Nadia mentioned in her post, I believe that the way a company responds to situations like this is much more informative and insightful than the mistake itself. As for Dannon, they took the easy route out. By brushing off their mistakes and refusing to take full responsibility of their errors, it speaks to the type of company they really are.

Seems like Dannon’s yogurt also lacks the health benefit of growing a backbone.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/dannon-settles-lawsuit/story?id=9950269