The High Court has rejected an appeal by pharmaceutical giant Reckitt Benckiser against a $6 million penalty handed down in 2016, after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission took action against the company for misleading claims in promotion of its Nurofen painkiller brand in 2015.
In 2016 the Federal Court decided on penalties after finding the company had engaged in misleading conduct by suggesting to customers certain brands of Nurofen could provide relief for specific types of pain, such as back or period pain. An initial penalty of $1.6 million was handed down, but this was revised to $6 million after an appeal from the ACCC.
The ABC reports that after Reckitt Benckiser’s final appeal against the penalty was unsuccessful, the company will now have to pay the full $6 million amount, which is the largest ever penalty for a breach of consumer law.
Pepsi has officially apologised and removed a two-and-a-half minute online advertisement featuring Keeping up with the Kardashians star Kendall Jenner after all sides of politics panned the brand’s message.
In the ad, Jenner is completing a photoshoot while a peace rally filled with young Americans unfolds in front of her. She eventually pulls off her wig, removes her makeup and joins the protesters, grabbing a can of Pepsi and handing it to a police officer at the front of a picket line.
While Pepsi said it was intending to promote a message of “unity” across the globe, it has apologised for the sustained global outrage the video has produced over the past 24 hours. Some viewed the campaign as trivialising the Black Lives Matter Movement, while others said it showed a commercialisation of causes and even trivialised the role of police forces.
“We did not intend to make light of any serious issue. We are removing the content and halting any further rollout. We also apologize for putting Kendall Jenner in this position,” Pepsi said in a statement.
The ad remains live on a variety of Kendall Jenner fan Youtube accounts. View it below.
Family restaurant chain Sizzler will reportedly close two more of its Australian sites this week, with news.com.au reporting the closures will leave only 16 Sizzlers left standing in the country.
Sizzler outlets in Brisbane’s Brookside and Sydney’s Koragah will close at the weekend, but this does not signal the end of the soup and steak chain in other countries, with popularity increasing across Asia. Sizzler is owned by ASX-listed Collins Foods Limited, and its website lists restaurants in the US, Japan, Thailand and China.
In Collins Foods’ half year update to the market, the company highlighted an increase in revenue and royalty earnings for Sizzler across Asia. The company said it has opened four news stores (two in China, two in Thailand), over the past six months, with another two planned to open in the region before the end of this financial year.
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