Reebok's $25 Million Mistake
From the archive: first published September 28, 2011.
Reebok learned an expensive lesson about the gap between marketing promises and product reality when it agreed to pay $25 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it had made false and unsubstantiated claims about its toning shoe line.
The shoes — EasyTone and RunTone — were marketed as capable of toning legs and buttocks more effectively than regular sneakers, simply by virtue of their specially designed soles. Advertisements made specific claims: EasyTone footwear had been proven to deliver 28 percent more strength and tone in the buttock muscles, 11 percent more in the hamstrings, and 11 percent more in the calves than regular walking shoes.
Those numbers, the FTC found, were not backed by reliable scientific evidence. The Bureau of Consumer Protection called the company's evidence "wholly insufficient." The settlement — announced on September 28, 2011 — barred Reebok from making such claims without sound science and put the $25 million toward refunds for consumers who had purchased the shoes since December 2008.
The toning shoe category had been one of the hottest trends in athletic footwear, reaching a market estimated at $1 billion in 2010, with multiple brands competing to convince consumers that the right shoes could substitute for actual exercise. Skechers, with its own line of toning shoes, would later settle similar FTC charges for $40 million.
FTC officials used the case to send a broader message to the fitness industry: national advertisers "must exercise some responsibility and ensure that their claims for fitness gear are supported by sound science." For consumers, the episode was a useful reminder about fitness marketing. The appeal of products that promise significant results with minimal effort is powerful and perennial — and where that appeal is strongest, scrutiny should be highest. There is still no shoe that tones your body. There is only the work.
Editor's note: this article was verified during our editorial review. The original 2011 version misstated the FTC-challenged percentages; the corrected figures are 28 percent (buttocks), 11 percent (hamstrings) and 11 percent (calves) versus regular walking shoes.
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