The irksome, though effective, Kars4Kids jingle will remain on the air, for the time being.
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An Orange County judge had ordered the catchy radio and TV ads be taken down by Monday, June 8, for allegedly misleading donors that the money was spent on underprivileged children in California. But the charity got a reprieve Thursday after filing an appeal.
Without comment, 4th District Court of Appeals Justice Thomas A. Delaney issued a stay on the lower court ban against the ditty.
So you’ll be hearing “1-877 Kars for Kids” for the time it takes to process the appeal, potentially a year.
The charity applauded the decision, saying that, contrary to the lower court ruling, the charity does indeed benefit a wide array of children and teenagers in California and beyond.
“The uninterrupted airing of its ads will enable the charity to continue funding its programs for children and families,” said Wendy Kirwan, a spokesperson for Kars4Kids. “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.”
Anthony Graham, the Newport Beach attorney for the plaintiff who sued Kars4Kids to end the ads, responded that he was doubtful the charity could present evidence to overturn the Superior Court ruling.
“They litigated this for five solid years and didn’t present any evidence of benefit to California,” Graham said. “On appeal, you’re not allowed to make stuff up.”
Graham estimated that Kars4Kids could generate about $45 million in donations from California if the commercial continues airing for a year.
Superior Court Judge Gassia Apkarian in May found that the donations fueled an organization in New Jersey that spent the money on matchmaking services for young Jews and trips to Israel for 17- and 18-year-olds.
Apkarian ruled the radio and TV commercials violated California’s false advertising laws, and gave the company 30 days to remove the joke-inspiring jingle.
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“The Kars4Kids name, when coupled with an advertisement that ‘does not mention anything’ about its specific mission … is likely to deceive the public,” Apkarian said in her May 8 ruling. She said the ad improperly made it appear that kids were the beneficiaries to elicit emotional responses and make it financially successful.
Apkarian noted the people helped by the donations are actually young adults.
The 30-second ditty, though memorable, has elicited numerous parodies as well as the anger of listeners who find it irritating. One commenter on social media suggested it be played on a loop to terrorist prisoners.
Apkarian’s ruling was in answer to a lawsuit by Bruce Puterbaugh, who donated a nonoperational 2001 Volvo XC valued at $250. Puterbaugh had heard the Kars4Kids jingle repeatedly over the radio and believed his donation would help needy children in California.
During the trial, Kars4Kids Chief Operating Officer Esti Landau acknowledged that the two-decade-old ad “does not say anything” about the charity’s specific nature. Kars4Kids is a Jewish organization, yet the word “Jewish” is absent from the ad; and the primary function of Kars4Kids is to fund Oorah, an organization dedicated to Orthodox Jewish heritage and summer camps in New York and New Jersey.
Kars4Kids recently posted a lengthy rebuttal to Apkarian’s ruling on its website, featuring arguments that likely will be made to the appellate court.
“The media’s incomplete narrative was fueled by a court decision that relied on significant inaccuracies, omissions, and mischaracterizations of Kars4Kids’ charitable work,” the post said.
The website said Kars4Kids, through its sister charity, Oorah, supports hundreds of California children through mentorships, tuition assistance, after-school programs and summer camp attendance.
Oorah also provides financial assistance to about 2,200 preschool, elementary and high school students, ages 5 to 17, attending more than 250 schools across the United States and Canada.
“While poverty relief is not Kars4Kids’ mission, many children in its programs come from lower socio-economic backgrounds or other challenging family circumstances,” the website said.
One place you might not hear the earworm jingle: for now, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. has pulled the ads from its airwaves because of the California case.
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