FedEx suing UPS over false ad.
05-02-2009, 03:37 AM
#1
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FedEx suing UPS over false ad.
I guess FedEx did not like UPS coming at them with the change to the NLRA
FedEx lawsuit alleges UPS 'most reliable' ad is false
By Wayne Risher (Contact), Memphis Commercial Appeal
Saturday, May 2, 2009
FedEx slapped its chief rival Friday with a lawsuit claiming false advertising by UPS.
UPS officials said they were pulling the offending ad, which touted UPS as most reliable, after learning the claim was based on an out-of-date customer satisfaction survey.The lawsuit asked UPS to kill the ad and pay FedEx for lost business and other impacts, including "corrective advertising costs" of at least $20 million.
"As the company that coined the term 'absolutely, positively,' we obviously take any competitor claims of superior reliability very seriously," FedEx spokesman Maury Lane said.
"UPS has been widely broadcasting an ad asserting that their service is the most reliable. We have notified UPS that their ad does not comply with the law, but they have refused to withdraw the ad. We are now asking for the court's assistance in protecting consumers and FedEx from false and misleading statements," Lane added.
FedEx reported receiving a letter by e-mail from UPS about two hours after the lawsuit was filed in federal court in Memphis.
UPS spokesman Norman Black described the letter's timing as coincidental, and said it was in response to an earlier letter from FedEx.
"The ad was clearly based on a 2008 survey by an independent party, and just last week there was a new survey that came out that changed the rankings," Black said. "With that new survey, we have advised them we're not going to use it any more."
The lawsuit revolves around a television ad that has been running since at least mid-March. It says UPS "was just ranked most reliable," a reference to a November survey of 200 shippers by investment firm Morgan Stanley.
FedEx lawyers challenged the ad's compliance with truth-in-advertising law, saying survey findings were outdated and lacking substantiation.
In Morgan Stanley's survey dated Sunday, shippers ranked FedEx most reliable.
FedEx lawsuit alleges UPS 'most reliable' ad is false
By Wayne Risher (Contact), Memphis Commercial Appeal
Saturday, May 2, 2009
FedEx slapped its chief rival Friday with a lawsuit claiming false advertising by UPS.
UPS officials said they were pulling the offending ad, which touted UPS as most reliable, after learning the claim was based on an out-of-date customer satisfaction survey.The lawsuit asked UPS to kill the ad and pay FedEx for lost business and other impacts, including "corrective advertising costs" of at least $20 million.
"As the company that coined the term 'absolutely, positively,' we obviously take any competitor claims of superior reliability very seriously," FedEx spokesman Maury Lane said.
"UPS has been widely broadcasting an ad asserting that their service is the most reliable. We have notified UPS that their ad does not comply with the law, but they have refused to withdraw the ad. We are now asking for the court's assistance in protecting consumers and FedEx from false and misleading statements," Lane added.
FedEx reported receiving a letter by e-mail from UPS about two hours after the lawsuit was filed in federal court in Memphis.
UPS spokesman Norman Black described the letter's timing as coincidental, and said it was in response to an earlier letter from FedEx.
"The ad was clearly based on a 2008 survey by an independent party, and just last week there was a new survey that came out that changed the rankings," Black said. "With that new survey, we have advised them we're not going to use it any more."
The lawsuit revolves around a television ad that has been running since at least mid-March. It says UPS "was just ranked most reliable," a reference to a November survey of 200 shippers by investment firm Morgan Stanley.
FedEx lawyers challenged the ad's compliance with truth-in-advertising law, saying survey findings were outdated and lacking substantiation.
In Morgan Stanley's survey dated Sunday, shippers ranked FedEx most reliable.
05-02-2009, 05:09 PM
#2
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Alternative UPS ad campaign
Then how about...... Over the past 30 years, UPS has consistantly kicked FedEx tail with higher profit margins. In many years, UPS kept twice as much money per dollar brought in than did FedEx. 
Prospective customers might not be too impressed but investors should be. Fred has managed to convince Wall Street that he has invented a sexy new industry - and by and large, the Market believes it. UPS has always had a much stronger balance sheet but does not do a good job of promoting themselves. UPS did not even advertise until the 1980's.
Prospective customers might not be too impressed but investors should be. Fred has managed to convince Wall Street that he has invented a sexy new industry - and by and large, the Market believes it. UPS has always had a much stronger balance sheet but does not do a good job of promoting themselves. UPS did not even advertise until the 1980's.
05-02-2009, 05:16 PM
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Originally Posted by ToeJam Football
Then how about...... Over the past 30 years, UPS has consistantly kicked FedEx tail with higher profit margins. In many years, UPS kept twice as much money per dollar brought in than did FedEx.
Prospective customers might not be too impressed but investors should be. Fred has managed to convince Wall Street that he has invented a sexy new industry - and by and large, the Market believes it. UPS has always had a much stronger balance sheet but does not do a good job of promoting themselves. UPS did not even advertise until the 1980's.
Prospective customers might not be too impressed but investors should be. Fred has managed to convince Wall Street that he has invented a sexy new industry - and by and large, the Market believes it. UPS has always had a much stronger balance sheet but does not do a good job of promoting themselves. UPS did not even advertise until the 1980's.
We need to ramp that up.
Why was UPS not sponsoring the Kentucky Derby today, for example? I'm no ad executive, but it seems to me that UPS...Louisville...and the Derby are a really big deal.
05-02-2009, 06:13 PM
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Originally Posted by ToeJam Football
Then how about...... Over the past 30 years, UPS has consistantly kicked FedEx tail with higher profit margins. In many years, UPS kept twice as much money per dollar brought in than did FedEx.
Prospective customers might not be too impressed but investors should be. Fred has managed to convince Wall Street that he has invented a sexy new industry - and by and large, the Market believes it. UPS has always had a much stronger balance sheet but does not do a good job of promoting themselves. UPS did not even advertise until the 1980's.
Prospective customers might not be too impressed but investors should be. Fred has managed to convince Wall Street that he has invented a sexy new industry - and by and large, the Market believes it. UPS has always had a much stronger balance sheet but does not do a good job of promoting themselves. UPS did not even advertise until the 1980's.
If you're trying to make your point about profit margins, perhaps that ad campaign should be published in Forbes, or some other financial magazine, where the right people might actually pay attention to it.
Just a thought.
JJ
05-02-2009, 06:27 PM
#5
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Originally Posted by ToeJam Football
Then how about...... Over the past 30 years, UPS has consistantly kicked FedEx tail with higher profit margins. In many years, UPS kept twice as much money per dollar brought in than did FedEx.
Prospective customers might not be too impressed but investors should be. Fred has managed to convince Wall Street that he has invented a sexy new industry - and by and large, the Market believes it. UPS has always had a much stronger balance sheet but does not do a good job of promoting themselves. UPS did not even advertise until the 1980's.
Prospective customers might not be too impressed but investors should be. Fred has managed to convince Wall Street that he has invented a sexy new industry - and by and large, the Market believes it. UPS has always had a much stronger balance sheet but does not do a good job of promoting themselves. UPS did not even advertise until the 1980's.
Not many trucking companies advertised before 1980. When did UPS get their own aviation department?
05-02-2009, 07:48 PM
#6
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Originally Posted by Jetjok
Because Joe Consumer doesn't give a rat's a$$ about the profit margins of either UPS or FedEx. What he does care about is getting his overnight package, on time, the next day, or when he expects it to arrive. Nothing more and nothing less.
If you're trying to make your point about profit margins, perhaps that ad campaign should be published in Forbes, or some other financial magazine, where the right people might actually pay attention to it.
Just a thought.
JJ
If you're trying to make your point about profit margins, perhaps that ad campaign should be published in Forbes, or some other financial magazine, where the right people might actually pay attention to it.
Just a thought.
JJ
as long as my package gets there.
05-02-2009, 08:02 PM
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Originally Posted by ToeJam Football
Then how about...... Over the past 30 years, UPS has consistantly kicked FedEx tail with higher profit margins. In many years, UPS kept twice as much money per dollar brought in than did FedEx.
Prospective customers might not be too impressed but investors should be. Fred has managed to convince Wall Street that he has invented a sexy new industry - and by and large, the Market believes it. UPS has always had a much stronger balance sheet but does not do a good job of promoting themselves. UPS did not even advertise until the 1980's.
Prospective customers might not be too impressed but investors should be. Fred has managed to convince Wall Street that he has invented a sexy new industry - and by and large, the Market believes it. UPS has always had a much stronger balance sheet but does not do a good job of promoting themselves. UPS did not even advertise until the 1980's.
Originally Posted by highsky
I totally agree. FedEx spends a LOT more on marketing their brand.
We need to ramp that up.
Why was UPS not sponsoring the Kentucky Derby today, for example? I'm no ad executive, but it seems to me that UPS...Louisville...and the Derby are a really big deal.
We need to ramp that up.
Why was UPS not sponsoring the Kentucky Derby today, for example? I'm no ad executive, but it seems to me that UPS...Louisville...and the Derby are a really big deal.
I mean, I can't tell you how many times I've heard folks talking about UPS "Synchronizing the World of Commerce".
05-02-2009, 08:17 PM
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Overnight airline pilots are arguing this topic???????
Go Purple, Go Brown.... They are good for each other and for me. I wanted to get hired by both, how 'bout that to argue. (except JJ, he left Brown <g>)
As pilots same beast really. So cheers to my pilot friends at Purple and my colleagues at Brown. Managment runs the shows anyway. Their slinging back and forth bothers me none. <bg>
Go Purple, Go Brown.... They are good for each other and for me. I wanted to get hired by both, how 'bout that to argue. (except JJ, he left Brown <g>)
As pilots same beast really. So cheers to my pilot friends at Purple and my colleagues at Brown. Managment runs the shows anyway. Their slinging back and forth bothers me none. <bg>
05-02-2009, 08:38 PM
#9
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Originally Posted by SaltyDog
Overnight airline pilots are arguing this topic???????
Go Purple, Go Brown.... They are good for each other and for me. I wanted to get hired by both, how 'bout that to argue. (except JJ, he left Brown <g>)
As pilots same beast really. So cheers to my pilot friends at Purple and my colleagues at Brown. Managment runs the shows anyway. Their slinging back and forth bothers me none. <bg>
Go Purple, Go Brown.... They are good for each other and for me. I wanted to get hired by both, how 'bout that to argue. (except JJ, he left Brown <g>)
As pilots same beast really. So cheers to my pilot friends at Purple and my colleagues at Brown. Managment runs the shows anyway. Their slinging back and forth bothers me none. <bg>
05-02-2009, 11:32 PM
#10
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Posts: 320
We both need each other anyway. Competition is the American Way. Keeps us all sharp.
The bottom line is that neither UPS nor FedEx are going away in our lifetimes. They are the only two gorillas in the game, and no one else is ever getting in. DHL figured that one out the hard way.
Let's all keep this in mind next time either of us negotiates a contract, shall we?
No matter the color of your uniform, we're both on the same team.
The bottom line is that neither UPS nor FedEx are going away in our lifetimes. They are the only two gorillas in the game, and no one else is ever getting in. DHL figured that one out the hard way.
Let's all keep this in mind next time either of us negotiates a contract, shall we?
No matter the color of your uniform, we're both on the same team.
Last edited by highsky; 05-03-2009 at 05:27 PM.
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