Red Bull commercials started off with simple goofy cartoons characters that drank the energy drink and were given wings. Today Red Bull ads are sports orientated and commonly feature top athletes in extreme sports. While the commercials have changed, its slogan, "Red Bull gives you wings," has not.
But despite using the faces of top athletes, there is no scientific evidence that the energy drink boosts performance. Red Bull has now settled its US class action lawsuit for $13 million, after the company was accused of making false advertisement claims.
According to the plaintiffs who brought the case to the US District Court of the Southern District of New York, the company advertised its energy drink as increasing performance, reaction speed, and improving concentration. One of the plaintiffs reported that he drank Red Bull since 2002, but saw no improvements in his performance.
The plaintiffs did not sue Red Bull for not growing wings, but instead site false marketing of the energy drink. Red Bull was criticized for focusing too much on words like "wings" and "boosts" in their print, TV, Internet ads, as well as through its athlete endorsements to make people believe that it enhances them physically.
"Such deceptive conduct and practices mean that [Red Bull's] advertising and marketing is not just 'puffery,' but is instead deceptive and fraudulent and is therefore actionable," the lawsuit says.
Red Bull's only performance enhancing ingredient is not guarana, but plain old caffeine. "Even though there is a lack of genuine scientific support for a claim that Red Bull branded energy drinks provide any more benefit to a consumer than a cup of coffee, the Red Bull defendants persistently and pervasively market their product as a superior source of 'energy' worthy of a premium price over a cup of coffee or other sources of caffeine," the suit says.
Red Bull's $13 million settlement could result in the company handing $6.5 million in a settlement within a week if the court approves the proposal.
Whether you think this lawsuit seems valid or ridiculous, there's some good news in it for you. Consumers who purchased a Red Bull between Jan.1 2002 and Oct. 3, 2014 will be rewarded either $10 or $15 worth of Red Bull products. Consumers can claim their refund without proof of purchase after registering online by March 2, 2015. However, the site is currently down, most likely because of high demand.
Red Bull is the highest selling energy drink in the world, with over five billion cans sold in 2013.
