Kars4Kids ad deemed ‘deceptive’ for its ties to Jewish organization
· Toronto Sun
Television viewers in California will no longer be subjected to the Kars4Kids jingle after a judge banned the “deceptive” commercials over its connection to a Jewish organization.
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Judge Gassia Apkarian ruled that the nonprofit organization will be banned from broadcasting the ads in the state because they fail to include details about its religious affiliation, location and beneficiaries.
The commercial’s song , which is either loved or loathed, shows children singing the group’s name, phone number and pleaing for car donations: “1-877-Kars4Kids/K-A-R-S Kars for Kids/1-877-Kars4Kids/Donate your car today.”
However, the judge declared the ads “misleading” and “unfair,” noting they do not disclose the nonprofit’s funding ties to Oorah, an Orthodox Jewish organization based in New Jersey.
Kars4Kids’ chief operating officer Esti Landau conceded that the nonprofit “does not say anything” about its religious affiliation in its advertising, and that potential donors would “have to go to the website” to learn more details about the organization’s mission, according to Apkarian’s ruling, USA Today reported.
As a result, Apkarian found that the advertisements were “misleading by omission,” ruling that the organization had engaged in false advertising and violated unfair competition law.
What kickstarted the case?
The ruling came from a civil suit from Bruce Puterbaugh, a California retiree who donated his non-working 2001 Volvo XC to the organization after he was subjected to the Kars4Kids jingle “over and over,” according to court documents, per USA Today.
Puterbaugh believed his donation would help underprivileged children — until a neighbour told him that Kars4Kids is an organization “dedicated to Jewish heritage and summer camps in New York and New Jersey,” the docs noted.
Landau testified that about one-quarter of Kars4Kids’ revenue comes from California, despite the organization having no presence in the state except an annual backpack giveaway funded through “small grants.”
Of the 120,000 vehicles donated to Kars4Kids each year, about 25% of them come from California.
‘Fraudulent and deceptive campaign’
“We are very pleased that the court found, after a five-day trial, that the organization’s primary purpose is not to help economically disadvantaged children and permanently enjoined Kars4Kids from continuing to use the ad in its present form,” Puterbaugh’s lawyers, Anthony Graham and Neal Roberts, said in a statement.
“The result of this trial is that the people of California will now be protected from a deceptive and misleading advertising campaign that leads ‘thousands of California donors… to surrender property under the false impression that they are supporting local, secular, or underprivileged kids.’”
They added: “This constitutes a massive, ongoing transfer of assets based on a fraudulent omission. This fraudulent and deceptive campaign has now been put to an end.”
What Kars4Kids says of the ruling
However, a Kars4Kids spokesperson disagreed with the judge’s decision, calling it “deeply flawed, ignores the facts, and misapplies the law,” in a statement to Entertainment Weekly .
“It’s well known that we are a Jewish organization, and our website makes it abundantly clear.”
The rep continued, “For 30 years, we’ve made it easy to donate an old car to benefit kids and families across the country through our sister charity Oorah. We’re helping thousands of kids with youth development with our mentoring and educational programs, including hundreds in the state of California, contrary to the judge’s complete mischaracterization of our work and of the testimony at the trial.”
The organization plans to fight the ruling.
“Our ads appeal to people with a car to dispose, offering a quick and easy way to give it to charity instead of the junkyard,” the spokesperson added. “We believe this case was nothing more than a lawyer-driven attempt to siphon off charitable funds for their own gain. We expect to win on appeal because the law and the facts are clearly on our side.”