Consumer Engagement: Reebok Easy Tone

                                                                       Reebok

     The brand I have chosen to evaluate regarding their ethical and legal issues in the past is Reebok. Reebok is an athletic clothing and shoe brand that released a shoe in 2009 meant to tone your legs while you walk(Martin & O’Connor, 2011). Reebok claimed that this shoe, called the “EasyTone,” would be able to “tone your legs with every step,” going as far as promoting strengthening consumers legs and hamstrings 11 percent better than regular walking shoes and sculpt their bottoms 28 percent better(Jurberg, 2021). These claims made consumers very interested in the product, as sales jumped to over $1 billion from $50 million the previous year(Martin & O’Connor, 2011). The original claims were found to be faulty, however, as Reebok only tested the shoes out on 5 women for 5 minutes on a treadmill, providing no further information on how the shoe can actually tone your legs(Martin & O’Connor, 2011). 

                                                                    Implications

The use of inaccurate testing measures led the Federal Trade Commission to fine Reebok $25 million, although the actual costs involved with this scandal were about $80 million(Jurberg, 2021). Although many consumers enjoyed the new shoes regardless, there are many consumers that suffered harm from the new shoes, such as breaking their ankles the first day they wore them due to the imbalancing features(Martin & O’Connor, 2011). This led to a poor perceived brand image of Reebok, as consumers realized the company employed false advertising as a means to sell the shoes to more people. The engagement that occurred between consumers and Reebok was mixed, with some customers filing lawsuits, and others actually liking the new product. Reebok has continued to market these shoes, only this time, they are not allowed to use statistics from the insufficient tests performed. The brand has not done any more tests to determine the actual effect of the shoes on consumer’s leg muscles(Martin & O’Connor, 2011). This has led to speculation from consumers about the actual benefits of the shoe, although many consumers prefer the shoes for their comfort regardless. Reebok’s failure to backup their value proposition ultimately weakened the brand as a whole, because the promise the brand meant to deliver was faulty(Schultz, 2016).

                        What should have been done differently?

Reebok was very vocal about disagreeing with the Federal Trade Commission's decision that the EasyTone made false claims in their marketing efforts(Martin & O’Connor, 2011). However, the fact that that company has not done further testing to prove their claims is suspicious and could save the company a lot of trouble. Reebok could have conducted a standard test with a large sample to prove that their claims were reliable. The company has had the opportunity to continue these tests but they have not, which weakens their brand image and value proposition as a whole. Reebok should have determined if using a small sample was ethical given the implications of using a shoe that some may find hard to walk with, which did cause many injuries and lawsuits from consumers(Martin & O’Connor, 2011). By determining if this decision was ethical, the company could have received praise for not making false claims or for using a larger sample size with accurate statistics and results(Blythe, 2014).

References

Blythe, J. (2014). The philosophy of ethics and the corporate conscience. Social Business, 4(3), 245–253. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1362/204440814X14103454934258

Jurberg, A. (2021, December 15). 8 Marketing Scandals | Better Marketing. Medium. https://bettermarketing.pub/8-of-the-most-costly-marketing-scandals-c4532da1b536

Martin, A., & O’Connor, A. (2011, September 30). Reebok to Pay $25 Million Over Toning Shoe Claims. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/29/business/reebok-to-pay-in-settlement-over-health-claims.html

Schultz, H. F. (Practitioner). (2016). Brand management [Video]. Sage Knowledge. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781473988484