Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Juul bought ads on Cartoon Network

On Wednesday, the Massachusetts attorney general filed a lawsuit against Juul Labs with evidence that strongly implies that Juul targeted young, underage smokers in the early years of its formation.  The lawsuit alleges that in 2015 and 2016, Juul purchased advertisements on Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Seventeen magazine, and educational websites used by students in high school and middle school.   Additionally, according to the lawsuit, Juul approached numerous celebrities with large numbers of teenage followers on social media, including Miley Cyrus, Kristen Stewart, and various influencers, in an attempt to utilize their celeb status in their digital marketing campaign.  

The evidence in this case is basically a nail in the coffin for Juul, negating the company’s claims that teenagers were never the intended customers for their popular vaping devices.  If the company is proven to have utilized targeted advertisements on youth websites and TV networks, it will be all but impossible for Juul to win the many outstanding cases filed against them alleging the company targeted underage consumers.  It will be interesting to see how the company’s digital marketing strategy is examined by the courts as evidence in this ongoing legal battle.  

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