FTC to Reebok - "The BUTT Stops Here."

Over the last year or so, a new phenomenon hit the fitness market - "toning" sneakers.  The products are designed to provide an "unstable" foundation while walking, which (supposedly) allows wearers to tone their hamstrings, calves, and butts, simply by walking around.  Forget the hours at the gym, just wear these shoes during your normal daily activity and viola! Instant results.  Claims so fabulous and enticing that the "toning" segment of the sneaker category reached $1.1 billion in 2010.

We all know, however, that things that sound too good to be true, are too good to be true.

Today the news is a buzz with a $25 million settlement Reebok has agreed to, after the FTC charged that it deceptively advertised its' toning shoes & apparel.  At issue are specific claims Reebok made that the users of the product would see "a 28% increase in strength and tone of the butt, and an 11% increase in the strength & tone of the hamstrings and calves."

Reebok is standing by its claims - stating that is has received "overwhelmingly enthusiastic feedback" from users - and has simply agreed to the settlement to avoid a protracted legal battle.

Here's an EasyTone ad - what do you think?

Obviously, the FTC thinks the ad is deceptive and misleading.  This leads us to a bigger issue, as indicated by David Vladeck, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection:

[We're here] to remind advertisers big and small that they must have adequate proof for the claims they make in their ads...

End game for ALL advertisers - claims must be substantiated.  If you say it, you must be able to prove it.
 
What puzzles me most in this particular case, is why Reebok went here in the first place?  I can understand "sketchy" Sketchers introducing ShapeUps as a way to get into the "serious" fitness market, but come on, Reebok is a REAL FITNESS BRAND.  It has a lot of respect to lose by following the dollars of fad products.  Real athletes who spend real money on fitness equipment know that you have to work to get results.  EasyTones are just too easy.  While Reebok may have added revenues from the segment, they more than likely alienated core customers who are embarrassed and offended by this type of bogus product, and the bogus claims.