Kars 4 Kids television commercial still
LOS ANGELES — The familiar Kars4Kids jingle continues to air around California after a state appeals court ruling reversed a lower court’s injunction against the charity during a legal challenge alleging the jingle amounted to false advertising.
On June 4, the state’s Fourth District Court of Appeal issued its decision placing a previous Orange County Superior Court injunction on hold. The lower court had held the Kars4Kids ad jingle was misleading and likely deceived the public because the ad didn’t mention the charity focuses on Jewish youth and their families and has a broad social-service network stretching well beyond California’s borders.
“The injunction and all other proceedings in this action are stayed pending resolution of this appeal or further order of this court,” the appeals court said.
In a statement emailed to the Southern California Record, Kars4Kids spokeswoman Wendy Kirwan said the nonprofit applauds the decision allowing the ads to air as the appeals process advances.
“Kars4Kids’ programs benefit a wide array of children and teenagers in California and beyond,” Kirwan said. “The uninterrupted airing of its ads will enable the charity to continue funding its programs for children and families. We believe the lower court’s findings on the facts and the law were deeply flawed, and we look forward to pursuing a broad appeal of that decision.”
In a ruling last month, Orange County Judge Gassia Apkarian concluded that the ads, which feature 8- to 10-year-old actors cast as a colorful kids’ band, created “a false sense of a universal, secular and local charity.” In turn, statutes such as the California False Advertising Law are being violated since the ads put children in the spotlight while the nonprofit takes a more holistic approach that includes programs that benefit older teenagers, young adults and parents, according to the lower court.
In a “myth vs. fact” report about the lower court decision on the Kars4kids’ website, the nonprofit argues Apkarian underplayed Kars4Kids’ work in California.
“Donations to Kars4Kids support hundreds of California children through programs operated by its sister charity Oorah – including mentorship, tuition assistance, after-school programs and summer camp attendance,” Kars4Kids reported.
The nonprofit also stressed that a 30-second ad is designed to get the viewer’s attention and not to provide a detailed rundown of the charity’s activities.
“The ad neither provides nor purports to provide a full account of the charity’s mission and programs,” the charity said. “Instead, the ad directs anyone wanting more information to the Kars4Kids website. Kars4Kids strongly disagrees with the court’s implication that a reasonable consumer would make donation decisions on the basis of religious or ethnic affiliation.”
In addition, the information about Kars4Kids’ charity work is available by phone, the charity said.
Kars4Kids acknowledges that the programs it supports are not “poverty relief,” but the children who benefit from them come from lower social-economic backgrounds or difficult family circumstances.
Neal Roberts, an attorney for the plaintiff in the litigation against Kars4Kids, told NBC News that the appeal of the Orange County ruling was no surprise.
“Rather than change the ads to disclose the hidden facts about the true use of the donations for religious organizations in New York, New Jersey and Israel, K4k has sought to continue the ads during the appellate process,” Roberts said.
