Lawsuit culture changing consumer habits
15th ANNUAL WACKY WARNING LABELS™ CONTEST:2012 FINALISTS SELECTED
Finalist Photos Available at http://www.centerforamerica.org/wwl_11/wwl_11_2012_finalists.html
WASHINGTON, DC: The internationally recognized Wacky Warning Labels™ Contest, now in its 15th year, has selected the 2012 FINALISTS! The top five finalists are:
“Never use while sleeping.”
A label on an electric razor for men (submitted from Wisconsin)
“These globes should not be referred to for navigation.”
A 7-inch decorative globe (submitted from Texas)
“Never use this product while driving.”
A “Laptop Steering Wheel Desk” (submitted from Michigan)
“Keep product away from infants and children.”
A neck pillow produced and marketed for children (submitted from California)
“Caution: Griddle surface may be hot during and after cooking.”
Instructions that come with an electric skillet (submitted from Michigan)
Contest creator Bob Dorigo Jones, bestselling author of Remove Child Before Folding: The 101 Stupidest, Silliest and Wackiest Warning Labels Ever, has reached hundreds of millions of Americans in the past decade with the important message of the Contest – “Absurd and silly labels surround us in everyday places – because America has a lawsuit-happy culture that must be changed!” Hilarious and thought-provoking past winners include:
- “Remove child before folding” – on a baby stroller!
- “Does not supply oxygen” – a label on a common dust mask (2011 Contest Winner)
- “Never operate your speakerphone while driving” – on a hands-free cell phone product called the “Drive ‘N’ Talk”! (2010 Contest Winner)
- “Not for use on moving vehicles” – the warning on the “Off-Road Commode,” a portable toilet seat that attaches to a trailer hitch!
- “Danger: Avoid Death” – a warning on a small tractor!
- “Harmful if swallowed – a warning on a brass fishing lure with a three-pronged hook
- “This product moves when used” – a warning on a popular children’s scooter!
“We’ve been tracking a growing trend this year – changes in consumer behavior as a result of scary labels,” says Bob Dorigo Jones. “Whether it be ‘risk of fire’ warnings on a heating pad that causes an elderly woman to forego the product, or worse, when people stop taking physician-prescribed medication because they fear the warnings, changes in consumer behavior have both economic and serious quality of life results.”
Wacky Warning Labels™ is a project of The Center for America, a dynamic non-profit organization educating, motivating and empowering the American people to reduce barriers to free enterprise. See more about CFA and Wacky Warning Labels™ at www.centerforamerica.org.
–END –
Jenny Kefauver Todd Young jenny@centerforamerica.org todd@centerforamerica.org
703.850.3533 770.317.2423
Last year, contest results reached more than 180 million Americans via international media coverage. Wacky Warning Labels™ is a project of The Center for America, a dynamic non-profit organization educating, motivating and empowering the American people to reduce barriers to free enterprise. See more about CFA and Wacky Warning Labels™ at www.centerforamerica.org.