Airborne Faces Class Action Lawsuit

First things first...If you haven't already read this previous post about Airborne, this might be a good time to do so: Take The Bait

Now that we have that out of the way let's talk about the oops of the week. In my last Airborne article I discussed the idea that this product's success was mainly realized due to consumer misconception of what Airborne actually does. It turns out some lawyers agree enough to file a class action lawsuit on the grounds of false advertising. I wasn't 100% sold that Airborne was guilty of false advertising, but the experts on the matter sure are. Apparently they have been fighting this battle since 2006.

As it turns out, Airborne used the phrase "Miracle Cold Buster" in some form of advertising which created the false pretense that it was a cure for the common cold which the company obviously could not and still cannot prove. The only 'clinical trial' was done with two participants...hardly scientific. I guess this is precisely why Airborne decided to make a 23.3 million dollar settlement to reimburse those who purchased this product due to the false ads, though they refuse to admit to any wrongdoing.

Is this a case of corporate accountability, or just the easy way out? The Airborne people clearly believe they didn't do anything wrong - why not fight for what they believe in? Obviously it would cost more money in the end, but I now view this company in a negative way. If they can fork over 23.3 million dollars, I don't understand why they can't apologize to their once-faithful customers. As you can probably guess by now - I'm a big fan of accountability. If you screw up: right your wrong, apologize to those who were affected and do your best not to make the same mistake twice.

Check out ABC News for a good story on this matter.