Red Bull doesn't give you wings: Energy drink giant to cough up Sh 1.16 billion over false advertising lawsuit

The famous energy drink slogan has been found to be false after a US lawsuit. The Austrian manufacturer has agreed to cough up a bank-busting $13million (£8.1m) to settle over false advertising.
It means anyone who glugged a can of Red Bull stateside in the last 12 years could soon have a cash windfall winging their way. They don't even need a proof of purchase. They shouldn't moon the boss, cancel the milk and book round-the-world flights just yet though.
Because the company – which admitted no wrongdoing – has only agreed to fork out Sh 891 cash or Sh 1,337 worth of Red Bull products per person up to the cap of Sh 1.15 billion.
A website - energydrinksettlement.com - set up by Red Bull to process claims crashed after a flood of traffic this week.
There’s a deadline of March 2015 to submit an application.
The false ad lawsuit was kicked off in 2013 by a US consumer, Benjamin Careathers. He argued the Red Bull slogan clearly doesn't mean the drink will give you wings. But he claimed it is generally accepted the drink should give a higher energy boost than an average cup of coffee. At a hearing in August, a judge agreed with him.
"Even though there is a lack of genuine scientific support for a claim that Red Bull branded energy drinks provide any more benefit to a consumer than a cup of coffee, the Red Bull defendants persistently and pervasively market their product as a superior source of 'energy' worthy of a premium price over a cup of coffee or other sources of caffeine," the suit says.
The firm has agreed to amend future marketing campaigns.
Red Bull is the biggest selling energy drink in the world, with 5.4 billion cans sold in 2013.