The Kars4Kids jingle will keep echoing across California airwaves and likely get stuck in plenty of heads, after an appeals court ruled Thursday that the ads can continue running while its legal fight plays out.
The decision temporarily allows the nonprofit’s commercials with the familiar “1-877-Kars4Kids” to stay on the air during the appeals process, pausing, but not overturning, a lower court ruling that had found the ads violated California’s false advertising and unfair competition laws.
"Kars4Kids applauds today's court ruling allowing its ads to continue airing in California while the appeals process continues," spokesperson Wendy Kirwan said in a statement Thursday. "Kars4Kids' programs benefit a wide array of children and teenagers in California and beyond.
"The uninterrupted airing of its ads will enable the charity to continue funding its programs for children and families. We believe the lower court's findings on the facts and the law were deeply flawed, and we look forward to pursuing a broad appeal of that decision."
The dispute traces back to a May ruling from Orange County Superior Court Judge Gassia Apkarian, who ordered Kars4Kids to stop airing its current ads in California. The judge found the commercials could be misleading because they suggest donated vehicles broadly support underprivileged children, including in California, without clearly explaining how the organization is actually structured and how its funding is used.
At the heart of the case is how the charity presents its mission in its advertising. The court said the messaging does not clearly disclose that most donations ultimately go to Oorah, an affiliated Orthodox Jewish nonprofit that runs youth programs in New York, New Jersey and the Middle East, including camps, educational programs, and international trips for older teens.
The lawsuit itself was filed in 2021 by donor Bruce Puterbaugh, who said he gave away a vehicle after repeatedly hearing the jingle and believing it would help “underprivileged children” across the country. Instead, he alleged, the donations were used to fund teen trips to Israel and a $16.5 million building.
Kars4Kids has strongly pushed back against the findings.
“The facts are neither new nor concealed. Kars4Kids has long made clear that it primarily funds Oorah, a national Jewish nonprofit organization that provides year-round educational, youth development, and mentoring programs, with a particular focus on Jewish youth and their families,” Kars4Kids said in a May statement.
Apkarian ultimately ruled that the ads created a “misleading by omission” impression, pointing to the emphasis on helping children and charitable giving without fully spelling out the organization’s religious affiliation and geographic focus.
As part of that earlier decision, the court ordered that any future advertising in California must include clearer disclosures about who benefits from donations and how the organization operates if it wants to keep advertising in the state.
“We believe this case was nothing more than a lawyer-driven attempt to siphon off charitable funds for their own gain. We expect to win on appeal because the law and the facts are clearly on our side,” Kars4Kids’ May statement concluded.
