A California Judge Bars Kars4Kids Spots Over False Advertising Claims.

“You know the jingle. I know the jingle,” Politico’s Matt Friedman writes in his latest New Jersey Playbook column.

“1-877-Kars4Kids…”

That jingle is now at the center of a California judge’s ruling — and it has been ordered removed from the state’s airwaves until charity car-donation group Kars4Kids’ future ads clearly disclose the organization’s religious affiliation, where donated funds are spent and the ages of the people who benefit from the programs.

The ruling, issued May 8 by Orange County Superior Court Judge Gassia Apkarian, found that the charity violated California’s false advertising and unfair competition laws by misleading donors through omissions in its long-running “1-877-Kars4Kids” advertising campaign.

The case stemmed from a lawsuit filed by California resident Bruce Puterbaugh, who donated a vehicle in 2021 after repeatedly hearing the organization’s radio and television spots. According to court findings summarized in the ruling, Puterbaugh believed the proceeds would help underprivileged children in California and elsewhere in the U.S.

Instead, the court found that much of the organization’s revenue was directed to Oorah, an Orthodox Jewish outreach organization operating primarily in New York, New Jersey and Israel. Judge Apkarian wrote that “the vast majority of funds, 60%, go to Oorah,” adding there was “no geographic nexus to California.”

The ruling said Kars4Kids advertising created the impression that donations broadly supported needy children, while failing to disclose that programs also benefited adults and families connected to a specific religious community. The court cited evidence that funds were used for matchmaking services, “gap year” trips to Israel for older teens and a $16.5 million real estate acquisition in Israel.

Judge Apkarian wrote that the organization’s ads relied on “false assumptions created by the Defendant’s calculated silence,” calling the campaign “an actionable strategy of deception.”

The court rejected arguments by Kars4Kids that the advertisements were protected under the First Amendment or that donors should have independently researched the charity before contributing. According to the ruling, misleading omissions in charitable solicitations are not shielded as protected speech.

As part of the judgment, Kars4Kids was permanently barred from airing the jingle or similar ads in California unless advertisements contain “an express, audible disclosure” of the organization’s religious affiliation, the geographic location of its primary beneficiaries and whether the programs support children, families or both. The court also ordered the charity to stop using images of young children in ads if donations primarily support adults or older teens.

The organization was given 30 days to remove noncompliant advertisements from California airwaves.

The ruling is expected to have broader implications for nonprofit fundraising and advertising practices nationwide. Judge Apkarian said charities are not exempt from consumer protection laws and warned that misleading fundraising campaigns can create “an unfair playing field for local California charities that are honest about their missions.”