Have you ever consumed Red Bull? Did it give you wings? Of course not, but that ad slogan is costing the company millions of dollars.
You know that kid in school who always took everything literally and got all serious and in your face, and made sure you knew that whatever you said wasn’t perfectly accurate? Well, that kid grew up and filed a class-action lawsuit against the energy drink firm because its catch-phrase, “Red Bull gives you wings”, isn’t true. And what’s more, he won. Red Bull has to give out $10 to every claimant who applies to become part of the class action, up to a maximum of $13-million.
The Red Bull drinker in California who started this whole thing says he began drinking it regularly in 2002. He cited several studies that proved energy drinks are just another way of delivering caffeine, and that there’s no magic to them at all. In fact, a 7-ounce cup of regular coffee has up to twice as much caffeine as an 8-ounce can of Red Bull. In a nutshell, the guy was disappointed that after drinking Red Bull to get a superior energy boost, all he got was more yawning and the urge to pee.
Since Buzzfeed broke this story, the claimant website has been inundated with people clamouring for either $10 cash or $15 in Red Bull products. The company doesn’t admit to any wrongdoing but it’s shelling out the funds all the same, pending final approval of the settlement next May. Even though the claim is on behalf of North American Red Bull drinkers, only US citizens can file a form for their share of the payout. So as usual, it’s buyer beware. The next time a company claims its product will grow a unicorn horn or give you a permanent halo, you might want to just skip it, and have a cup of coffee instead.