Dannon sued over false advertising claims

A couple of days ago I was all set to write a post raving about my favorite yogurt, Dannon's Activia, prune flavor. I know, prune?? But seriously, it doesn't even taste like old, dried up prunes you know and hate, it tastes like berries or a little slice of heaven in your mouth. And it's creamy, and delicious, and it's good for your digestive tract! Hold up. But is it really??

A proposed class action suit was filed on Wednesday in CA, accusing Dannon of mounting a false advertising campaign that claims its Activia yogurt has probiotic health benefits that other yogurts do not, convincing consumers to pay more for Activia than what they would for other yogurt brands. The lawsuit states that Dannon's own studies are inconclusive in supporting its own claims that Activia is scientifically proven to have health benefits. Meaning? Activia probably isn't doing anything more for your digestive tract than any other yogurt, and suckers like me are paying more for it, thinking it does. In my defense, I just like the taste of it more than anything. But I know lots of other people eat it because they believe in its health benefits, and that's where they're wrong, and paying the price for it.

The lawsuit, if won, would reimburse all U.S. purchasers of Activia, Activia Lite, and DanActive, and demands that Dannon embark on a 'corrective' advertising campaign. This will be interesting to see played out, as Activia and DanActive are huge money makers for the company, expected to bring in 40% of Dannon's yogurt business in '08.