iHeartMedia has settled a deceptive advertising case involving faked endorsements.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has announced a settlement with iHeartMedia, Inc. over the company’s recording and broadcasting of radio advertisements promoting Google’s Pixel 4 smartphone, according to a press release.
In the suit, iHeartMedia DJs were accused of recording detailed testimonials about their personal and positive experiences with the Pixel 4, even though they had never actually used the smartphones despite requesting them from Google, the press release states.
Google allegedly hired iHeart to have its radio personalities follow scripts that described their supposed personal experiences using the Pixel 4, despite the phone not yet being available for sale, according to a press release.
While paying iHeartMedia over $2.6 million for the ads, Google allegedly refused to provide the phones to the radio personalities before their initial recordings.
The testimonials were nonetheless broadcast as product advertisements in 10 different major metro areas, including DFW, Houston, Los Angeles, and Boston, among others.
Recordings of the ads have been posted on the FTC’s website.
“This settlement is an example of my commitment to ensuring that blatant mistruths presented as facts by corporate entities will not go unchecked,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Any corporation that pushes falsehoods is on notice that my team and I will go after them. I refuse to stand idly by while companies lie to Texans for financial gain.”
As a result of the settlement, iHeartMedia was ordered to pay Texas civil penalties and attorney’s fees in excess of $65,000.
The company also agreed to fully cooperate with Attorney General Paxton in “all other investigations and cases related to the marketing of the Google Pixel 4.”
While iHeartMedia has declined to comment on the issue, a spokesperson for Google, José Castañeda, issued a statement that they “are pleased to resolve this issue” and “take compliance with advertising laws seriously and have processes in place designed to help ensure” that “relevant regulations and industry standards” are followed.