Oprah does NOT endorse MonaVie & other Açaí brands
Time to wake up web surfers / marketers / consumers...
Oprah Winfrey does not endorse the MonaVie juice or any other acai brand.
Oprah & her guest on the show speaks of the potential of the fruit only very simply like Time Magazine per our earlier post does -- its just a general "review"!!
BUT look at how much unnecessary hype the spindoctors (aka spammers, & unfortunately MonaVie corporate executives who caught the bug) have generated from the short segment. LOL.
This tactic is not new. It follows earlier hypes generated by Freelife Goji / Gochi.
As officially posted on Oprah.com here in January 2009:
The Truth About Oprah and Açaí and MonaVie
Consumers should be aware that Oprah Winfrey is not associated with nor does she endorse any açaí berry product, company or online solicitation of such products, including MonaVie juice products. Attorneys for Harpo are pursuing companies that claim such an affiliation.
ABC News in Boston posted this on 27th April 2009:
Beware Acai Berry Offers
Health Claims Questioned, Consumers Report Troubles
BOSTON -- Some call it a super fruit, claiming that acai berry can make those who eat it healthier and thinner. But the manner in which many acai berry products are marketed is leaving many consumers with a sour taste.
NewsCenter 5's Susan Wornick reported Monday that better business bureaus in Massachusetts and across the country have been flooded with consumer complaints about free trial offers of acai berry products that aren't as they appear.
Watch the news video here.
"These are companies that take advantage of those people that are desperate," said Warren King of the Better Business Bureau.
Acai juice is riding high on claims it fights cholesterol, is an anti-aging elixir and even acts as a natural Viagra.
Viewers who have emailed Team 5 Investigates complain that they ordered a 30-day free trial of acai berry and agreed to pay about $5 shipping, but instead ended up with credit card charges up to $80 or $90.
Another wrote, "What's hidden in the fine print, is that they are going to continually send you bottles of these supplements and charge your credit card $75-$80 a bottle until you call & cancel the subscription."
King said many consumer complain they have a hard time clearing up any misunderstanding with the companies.
"They can't get through, or that their lines or down or that the mailboxes are full or that the e-mails don't work."
After Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Oz spoke about the health benefits of acai berry, some companies began claiming she had endorsed their products.
Winfrey said otherwise, releasing a statement, "Consumers should be aware that Oprah Winfrey is not associated with nor does she endorse any açaí berry product, company or online solicitation of such products, including MonaVie juice products. Attorneys for Harpo are pursuing companies that claim such an affiliation."
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is investigating claims, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest is also warning consumers to avoid free acai berry trial offers.
Further, dietician Leslie Bonci, of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said there is no evidence to back up health claims that some acai berry companies make.
"I don't think we should be excited," she said. "As a matter of fact, I think we should be a little remorseful to pay five bucks for a bottle of something that is not going to make me thinner, or healthier and we can get those antioxidant benefits in other ways."
Finally, The Courier-Journal, a Top Newspaper from the Kentucky & Southern Indiana region published this piece on 2nd May 2009:
Tips from the Better Business Bureau consumer watch
The Better Business Bureau is advising social networkers to read the fine print when responding to advertising on Facebook or other social-networking sites because the large print doesn't always tell the whole story.
Ubiquitous ads for weight-loss products, work-at-home opportunities and offers for "free" computers can cost shoppers more in the long run.
Just because an ad appears on a Web site they trust doesn't mean they can always trust the advertisers. The following is an example of an ad on a social networking site and what the fine print reveals:
The pitch: Lose weight
In January, the BBB issued a warning to consumers about online ads and Web sites that use Oprah Winfrey's name to sell acai berry supplements as weight-loss miracles. These ads link to fake blogs that are designed to look like testimonials of women who lost weight on the acai supplements. Recent research by the Center for Science in the Public Interest identified more than 75 phony blogs that led to Web sites touting acai-berry supplements.
The fine print
The phony blogs link to Web sites that offer a free trial of an acai supplement. While the customers may think they only have to pay shipping, they could get billed as much as $87.13 every month if they don't cancel before the trial period ends. The fine print also explains that the trial period begins from the moment customers order the supplements and not after they receive the shipments.
BBB warns
Not only do health experts question the legitimacy of the weight-loss claims linked to acai berry, the BBB has received thousands of complaints from consumers who were billed despite never receiving their free trial or were billed every month despite numerous attempts to cancel.
Not all ads on social-networking sites are misleading and misleading ads aren't confined to Facebook or MySpace. It's important for people to always read the fine print carefully before giving their credit-card information online.
Do WITHOUT the juice/vitamin/cosmetic/household "stuff".
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posted 10:59 am
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