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Fake Origins Plantscription Ad Sparks Class Action Lawsuits
By Mike Holter
Women consistently turn to anti-aging beauty products that promise to erase the signs of aging and prevent future damage. Many of these purchases are based on advertisements featuring before-and-after images of how a product can visibly improve the skin’s appearance. Unbeknownst to some consumers, many of these images are digitally altered and accompany deceptive marketing claims that aren’t backed by scientific proof. Consumers who can prove they were duped into making a purchase based on a false or deceptive advertisement can be awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation.
One of the most famous cases of alleged false advertising using a digitally altered before-and-after photo involves ads for Estee Lauder’s Origins Plantscription line.
In 2011, former Sports Illustrated model Caroline Forsling sued Estee Lauder for $2 million for using her image in a Plantscription ad without her permission.
Forsling, who was 35 at the time, says she took a few test shots while wearing minimal makeup for an Estee Lauder hair-care product in 2010. Forsling claims in her lawsuit that she didn’t know the pictures would be used as the “Before” half of the Plantscription advertisement, nor that the photo would be Photoshopped to make her look older.
According to her lawsuit, “Defendants did not disclose in the Plantscription ad . . . that Forsling never used Plantscription, that Forsling is not aged 45-60 or that the so-called ‘dramatization’ of the product did not result from the use of the product by Forsling, but rather reflected [their] manipulation of a photograph.”
Forsling asked the court to bar the defendants from any unauthorized use of her image or likeness, as well as money damages for Estee Lauder’s “false advertising and deceptive acts.”
The case sparked a class action lawsuit alleging that Estee Lauder used the allegedly Photoshopped image of Forsling to trick consumers into purchasing Origins Plantscription products based on bogus claims about their “anti-aging benefits.”
Since then, other consumers have come forward alleging they did not receive the anti-aging benefits promised by the Plantscription ads.
If you purchased Origins Plantscription Anti-Aging Serum, Eye Cream face Cream, Eye Treatment or Cleanser based on one of these advertisements and did not obtain the promised results, you may be eligible to seek compensation through a consumer fraud class action lawsuit. Learn more about your legal options at the Origins Plantscription Class Action Lawsuit Investigation. Compensation Specialists will review your claims for free and will help you obtain damages if you have a case.
Updated March 18th, 2013
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