OAKLAND, Calif. (CN) — In multiple ads on TikTok for a teeth whitening serum, oral care brand HiSmile smears purple paint onto a yellow rubber duck or piece of paper, immediately wiping it away to reveal white underneath — the videos repeat the effect on yellow-tinted teeth that immediately become gleaming white after the serum is applied.
Consumers of HiSmile's popular teeth whitening serum and whitening strips say in a class action that those videos — along with others with brand and celebrity endorsements — were false advertising, but U.S. Magistrate Judge Kandis A. Westmore doubted Thursday that the suit had enough detail in its claims to move forward.
In the Thursday hearing, Westmore said that the plaintiffs’ lawsuit didn’t identify specific advertisements, nor specific elements of these ads, that led them to purchase HiSmile’s products, which could lead to the case’s dismissal.
“That’s the kind of thing that we need specificity about,” Westmore, said.
Without understanding what precise representations were made in the ads, Westmore said the court wouldn’t be able to tell if a reasonable consumer was misled by HiSmile, an oral care brand popular on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and other social media.
Meanwhile, the four named California plaintiffs behind the lawsuit argued that referencing specific ads against the company would be difficult, claiming that HiSmile’s marketing used an algorithm capable of generating “seemingly infinite variations” of video clips for...
Mandya: In another development to the Dharmasthala complainant issue, a woman, claiming to be the masked man's first wife, has issued statements against him. "He is not a good person. He used to h...