'Deceptive' Kars4Kids Jingle Ads Banned In CA Amid Undisclosed Religious Affiliation

The charity behind the long-running “1-877-Kars4Kids” jingle can no longer air its memorable commercials in California because they're "misleading," a judge ruled this month.

In the May 8 ruling, the Orange County Superior Court judge found that Kars4Kids violated false advertising and unfair competition law by failing to disclose that the organization primarily supports Orthodox Jewish programs based in New York, New Jersey and Israel, according to a press release issued by the plaintiff’s attorneys.

The organization, Oorah, provides programs including an adult matchmaking service, trips to Israel for teens and summer camps. The only program in California that Kars4Kids sponsored was a promotional giveaway of Kars4Kids-branded backpacks, the New York Times reported.

Kars4Kids Chief Operating Officer Esti Landau described that promotion as a "branding exercise," according to the California Post.

Some 25% of Kars4Kids’ revenue comes from California, the Post reported.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Bruce Puterbaugh, a California cabinet maker in his 70s who donated a vehicle in 2021 after repeatedly hearing the charity’s widely recognized radio and television jingle, according to his attorneys.

Puterbaugh believed the organization broadly benefited underprivileged children across the United States, including in California, according to his attorneys.

But the judge found that about 60% of Kars4Kids funding went to Oorah. Judge Gassia Apkarian described the ad campaign as an “actionable strategy of deception” that relied on “calculated silence” by omitting key information about the charity’s religious affiliation and where donor money was being spent, according to the plaintiff's attorneys.

The court rejected arguments that donors should have researched the charity online before contributing, ruling that the alleged deception occurred when listeners responded to the ads themselves.

Under the ruling, Kars4Kids is permanently barred from broadcasting the jingle in California unless future ads include audible disclosures identifying the organization’s religious affiliation, the geographic location of beneficiaries and the age range of the people receiving assistance, according to the Times.

Kars4Kids said it plans to appeal the decision, calling the ruling “deeply flawed" in a statement to the Times.

“It’s well known that we are a Jewish organization and our website makes it abundantly clear," the organization said.