Vitaminwater VS Red Bull
Verdict DROP IT DROP IT
The Reality When consumers sued Coca-Cola in 2009 over these claims, the company's own legal defense -- raised in its motion to dismiss -- was that 'no consumer could reasonably be misled into thinking Vitaminwater was a healthy beverage.' US District Court Judge John Gleeson rejected that defense in July 2010, ruling that naming the product 'vitaminwater' and its flavors 'energy,' 'revive,' and 'defense' has 'the potential to reinforce a consumer's mistaken belief that the product is composed of only vitamins and water,' and largely denied Coca-Cola's motion to dismiss the case. A 2014 class-action lawsuit, filed by plaintiff Benjamin Careathers, alleged these specific performance claims -- improved concentration and reaction speed -- were false advertising, not adequately supported by science. Red Bull settled in August 2014, agreeing to pay more than $13 million and offering any US consumer who purchased Red Bull between January 1, 2002, and October 3, 2014, a choice of $10 cash or $15 worth of Red Bull products. Red Bull did not admit wrongdoing, maintaining its marketing and labeling 'have always been truthful and accurate,' and said it settled to avoid the cost and distraction of continued litigation.
SHORT ANSWER
Vitaminwater: Coca-Cola's own legal defense against a 2009 lawsuit over vitaminwater's health claims argued that no reasonable consumer should have believed the product was healthy in the first place -- and a federal judge ruled the product's own naming and flavor names could still mislead people into thinking it was.
Red Bull: Red Bull settled a 2014 class-action lawsuit for more than $13 million over claims that the drink improves concentration and reaction speed, offering every US purchaser since 2002 a payout, though the company did not admit the underlying claims were false.