Cynthia Kelly thought she was buying Halloween-themed Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins with a “cute” carving of a pumpkin’s mouth and eyes, as pictured on the product’s packaging.
But when she opened it, she was horrified to find that there was no pumpkin carving at all. It was just a regular-looking piece of chocolate.
Now, Kelly has filed a lawsuit against Hershey, the maker of Reese’s, alleging the company falsely represented several of its holiday-themed products on packaging: Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins, White Pumpkins, Pieces Pumpkins, Peanut Butter Ghost, White Ghost and others.
Kelly “would not have purchased the Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins product if she knew that it did not have the detailed carvings of the mouth and/or eyes as pictured on the product label,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Florida, seeks class-action status on behalf of “numerous consumers [who] have been tricked and misled by the pictures on the Products’ packaging.”
Hershey declined comment to CNN on the suit.
Hershey joins a growing list of food brands sued for false advertising, including Taco Bell, Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Burger King and Arby’s. These companies use ads that don’t match up with their actual food, the suits allege.
The attorney for the Hershey suit, Anthony Russo, has led this effort.
For a judge or jury to side with the plaintiffs in false advertising claims, lawyers have to successfully make the case that the ads would trick a “reasonable consumer.”
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