The Kars4Kids earworm ad has been banned in California. Here’s why

A California judge has banned all ads for children’s charity Kars4Kids in the state, including those containing an earworm jingle, on the grounds that it violated false advertising laws.

Rather than helping “underprivileged children,” money from the New Jersey-based charity was used to fund teenagers’ trips to Israel as well as construction of a building worth $16.5 million, according to a lawsuit filed in 2021.

The suit was filed by Bruce Puterbaugh, who alleged that he had been “taken advantage of” by the charity after donating his car.

Puterbaugh said in his lawsuit, obtained by SFGATE, that he had made the decision after hearing the Kars4Kids jingle “over and over” again on local radio.

The catchy tune, which is infamous across the U.S., hears children singing the words “1-877-Kars4Kids/K-A-R-S Kars for Kids/1-877-Kars4Kids/Donate your car today,” and has been played on radio stations for almost 20 years.

According to court documents, Puterbaugh later learned that his car had not been donated to “underprivileged kids from all over the U.S.” but that his money had gone to Oorah Inc. – a company funded by Kars4Kids.

Oorah is a Jewish non-profit organization that helps run summer camps in the Tri-State area as well as organizing gap year trips to Israel for Jewish teenagers. Money from Kars4Kids was also used to buy a building for Oorah in Israel, reportedly worth $16.5 million.

“I feel taken advantage of by the ad and information that was not there,” Puterbaugh said in court testimony, according to SFGATE.

Also testifying in court was Esti Landau, the organization’s COO, who acknowledged that the infamous ad does not mention any religious affiliation or ties to the Jewish community.

In a ruling published May 8, Judge Gassia Apkarian of the Superior Court of California, in Orange County, wrote: “Money cannot ‘un-donate’ a car or restore the donor’s belief that they were helping a local, needy child.”

When a charity generates millions annually through a ‘jingle’ that conceals its primary religious and geographic focus, it creates an unfair playing field for local California charities that are honest about their missions,” she said.

Kars4Kids was ordered to pay $250 in restitution to Puterbaugh and has 30 days to “cease all non-compliant broadcasting in California”.

The Independent has contacted Kars4Kids for comment.

In a statement shared with The New York Times, a spokesperson for the company said it would seek a stay of the ruling and appeal the decision.

“We believe this decision is deeply flawed, ignores the facts and misapplies the law,” the statement read. “It’s well known that we are a Jewish organization and our website makes it abundantly clear.”

Kars4Kids added that it helps “thousands of kids with youth development, mentoring and educational programs, including hundreds in the state of California, contrary to the judge’s complete mischaracterization of our work and of the testimony at trial.”

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