Shoes that tone legs. Skin creams that induce weight loss. Drinks that fight off colds. Consumers get bombarded with advertisements that sound too good to be true. But Federal regulators say they often can’t intervene until customers start complaining.
In the latest such case, shoe company Skechers USA agreed to pay $40 million to settle the Federal Trade Commission’s deceptive marketing charges. Skechers said some of its sneakers would help wearers tone up and lose weight — a claim the FTC says the company backed up in its ads with faulty studies. Skechers denies any wrongdoing and maintains, according to a statement, that the advertisements were appropriate. The company says it chose to settle these claims to avoid extended legal proceedings. The settlement comes eight months after Reebok agreed to pay $25 million for similar marketing of its toning shoes.
These latest cases are part of an FTC crackdown on advertisements that overstate the health benefits of products. Such tactics have become more common as consumers increasingly look for ways to buy their way to better health, says Linda Sherry, director of national priorities at Consumer Action, a consumer advocacy group.
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