A federal judge ruled this week against PepsiCo in its efforts to get a preliminary injunction against advertisements for Coca-Cola Co.’s Powerade brand, largely because the Powerade ads already have been pulled.
The judge noted, though, that PepsiCo made similar claims for a high-end version of its own Gatorade brand.
Stokely-Van Camp, a PepsiCo division that makes Gatorade, filed a lawsuit in March saying Coca-Cola made false advertising claims for its Powerade ION4 sports drink.
The ads showed photos of Gatorade and Powerade ION4 bottles with the text “Don’t settle for an incomplete sports drink ... Introducing the complete sports drink with ION4.” The ads touted ION4 a superior because it has two additional electrolytes, calcium and magnesium.
U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl has yet to rule on the overall case, but an early order in the case has both PepsiCo and Coca-Cola claiming victory. PepsiCo wanted a preliminary injunction, ahead of the full case hearing, to stop the ads, but Powerade already has stopped running the ads.
“We accomplished what we set out to do,” PepsiCo said in a statement issued Wednesday. “When we filed our lawsuit, Powerade stopped its overtly disparaging claims against Gatorade in its advertising and told the Court it is changing its labeling. That’s why we filed the lawsuit.”
The judge’s order, though, was less than flattering for Gatorade. In the opinion, Koeltl said Gatorade’s motion also was weakened because it had “unclean hands” in bringing a case of false advertising against Powerade.
In the past, Gatorade had touted Gatorade Endurance Formula, a version of its drink aimed at elite athletes, for having calcium and magnesium.
“SVC cannon, having jumped on the bandwagon of calcium and magnesium first, now jump off and claim that Coca-Cola must get off too,” the judge said in the order.
Gatorade accounted last year for 77 percent of U.S. take-home sales in the sports drink segment, according to figures from Beverage Digest. Powerade represented 22 percent of the sports drink segment.
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