Adventure Playsets recalled for rotting wood beams

About 275,000 Adventure Playsets wooden play sets have been recalled because the plastic-coated wood of its horizontal ladder can rot and weaken over time and pose a fall hazard, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

More than 6,700 additional sets were recalled in Canada by the government organization Health Canada.

The play sets were manufactured in the U.S. and distributed by Adventure Playsets, based in Amarillo, Texas, the commission said.

This recall involves Adventure Playsets wooden play structures with swings, slides, and ladders.

Each set has a horizontal ladder that functions both as monkey bars and as a swing beam, as well as an end ladder coated with plastic.

The instruction manuals for the recalled play sets have the name "Adventure Playsets" and one of the following model numbers printed on the cover: 

-- Bellevue 1-AP048, and 1-AP012 

-- Belmont 1-AP003

-- Dakota 1- AP046

-- Durango 1-AP016 and 1- AP018

-- El Dorado 1-AP016

-- Madison 1- AP006 and 1-AP015

-- Sedona 1- AP002

-- Sherwood 1-AP049

-- Tacoma 1- AP017 and 1-AP051

-- Ventura 1-AP008 

-- Yukon 1-AP052

Adventure Playsets has received more than 1,400 reports of rotting ladders and 16 reports of injuries, which included nine emergency room visits, the commission said.

The Bellevue, Tacoma and Durango swing sets were previously recalled because of a fall hazard and detaching frames, the recall said.

The sets were sold at Toys R Us, Walmart, Academy Sports and Outdoors, Menards and Mill stores across the nation, and online at Walmart.com, ToyRUs.com, Willygoat.com and in the DMSI catalog, the agency said. 

The recalled play sets were sold from January 2004 to December 2007.

Consumers can call Adventure Playsets at (877) 840-9068 for more information or contact the company online at www.adventureplaysets.com.

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Top photo: The Dakota, one of the recalled Adventure Playsets play sets. Bottom photo: A swing beam on a recalled play set. Credit: Consumer Product Safety Commission

Consumer Confidential: Sales, stuff and soda

Here's your whoopee-it's-Wednesday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

--Retail sales fell last month, but not really. They're only down because they were up by a lot because of the "cash for clunkers" program, which lured car buyers back into showrooms. Discounting the program's effects, retail sales were actually up by 0.5%, which is a bit better than what economists had been expecting. The betting line among the pocket-calculator crowd is that the economy's still crawling its way toward recovery.

--Some more upbeat news from the statistic front: Business inventories were down by 1.5% in August, the 13th straight month of declines. Why do you care? Because as companies clear stuff away from their shelves, that just makes it more likely they'll need to order more stuff as the economy improves. More stuff means more production, which means more jobs. At least that's the general idea.

--Our pals at PepsiCo are drawing heat for a new iPhone app designed to help guys score with women. Seriously. The app, called "Amp up before you score," is intended to push the company's Amp energy drink. It allows users to pick the type of women they prefer -- "foreign exchange student," say, or "cougar" -- and offers helpful pickup lines. Pepsi apologized via Twitter (natch) that it was just trying to be funny. Yeah, I love it when big companies show off their sense of humor.

-- David Lazarus

Activia, DanActive yogurt buyers to receive refunds in false advertising settlement

Saturday Night Live has spoofed Activia yogurt and its advertisements featuring actress Jaime Lee Curtis hawking the yogurt that supposedly... er, um ... loosens things up for those who eat it.

But Dannon Co., which makes Activia, is going to have to loosen its purse strings after settling a false-advertising lawsuit today. The settlement calls for the formation of a $35-million fund to reimburse those who bought Dannon's Activia and DanActive yogurts.

The class-action lawsuit, filed in January 2008, alleged that Dannon lied when marketing its Activia and DanActive yogurts by promising health benefits that the yogurt didn't really deliver.

Dannon denied the lawsuit's claims and admitted to no wrongdoing as a part of the settlement.

In a statement, Dannon said the decision to settle the lawsuit was based on avoiding "the distraction and expense of litigation."

Dannon also agreed to make changes to the labeling and marketing of its Activia and DanActive yogurts by increasing the visibility on the labels of the scientific names of the “probiotic” cultures in the yogurts, the settlement said.

The word “immunity” will be removed from DanActive labels as a part of the settlement, court documents said.

Labels that say the yogurt has “a positive effect on your digestive tract’s immune system” will be replaced with labels that say the yogurt will “interact with your digestive tract’s immune system,” the settlement said.

But Dannon will still be able to say it has scientific proof that its yogurt has the ability to improve "slow intestinal travel," or bowel irregularity, as long as the label, ad or display also states that such improvement occurs only when "eaten daily for two weeks, as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle,” court documents said.

The refund program for customers who bought Activia or DanActive yogurts will pay up to $100 per customer, court documents said.

To get the refund, consumers have to fill out a claim form that will be made available once the settlement is approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

Consumers will have 100 days to apply for their refunds from Dannon, which will post claim forms on its website, the settlement said.

San Diego law firm Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins, the lead council on the lawsuit, is offering to mail claim forms to consumers who fill out a form on their website.

If any of the $35 million is left over after the customer refunds are paid, Dannon must donate the remaining amount in yogurt to food banks, court documents said.

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Photo: Activia yogurt. Credit: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times

As airlines roll out holiday fares, Southwest blacks out key dates

Although Southern California is still enjoying shorts and T-shirt weather, airlines have already started to roll out discount fares for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s travel.

This is great news for bargain-hunting travelers, but it signals growing desperation among U.S. airlines
that have seen revenues drop 26% in June compared with the same month last year, according to the Air Transport Assn. of America, the industry trade group that represents most passenger airlines in the U.S.

“Everybody is fighting for your buck,” said Tom Parsons, chief executive and founder of Bestfares.com, an Internet discount travel website. “It’s definitely a fliers market.”

But Parsons takes exception with the tactics of one airline that has joined the discount fare war: Southwest Airlines.

When Southwest unveiled its Fall Savings deals — offering one-way fares from $59 to $109 for flights between Sept. 9 and Jan. 7 — it included some small-print exceptions that Parsons insists should have been made clear in bold lettering.

The deals included blackout dates from Nov. 24, 2009, to Dec. 1, 2009, and Dec. 18, 2009, to Jan. 4, 2010. That’s a grand total of 26 blackout days clustered around all the major fall and winter holidays.

On his website, Parsons called it a “Bah Humbug air fare sale” because, he said, the blackout dates make it nearly impossible for families with school-age children to take advantage of the deals.

A spokeswoman for Southwest, however, insisted that bargain fares can be found during those blackout
periods, depending on availability. But because the airline cannot promise those deals across the board, she said Southwest decided to list only the specific dates when the bargain fares are more certain.

“We are trying to be as honest and straightforward as possible with our customers,” said airline
spokeswoman Brandy King.

So, how do travelers know if the discount rates are available during the holiday season?
King suggests travelers visit the airline's website, punch in the date that they want to fly and see what rates
pop up.

“In other words, we should just poke around,” Parsons said sarcastically. “I think they just shot
themselves in the foot.”

-- Hugo Martin

Photo: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

Overstock.com cancels advertising affiliates in four states [Updated]

[UPDATED: Overstock has also announced it is reinstating its Hawaii program.]

[UPDATED: Less than one day after Overstock.com pulled its affiliate advertisers in California, the online retailer announced it would reinstate the program.

The reversal comes after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation that would have required online merchants that operate advertising contracts with third-party websites to collect sales taxes.

“After passing the largest tax increase in California history, it makes absolutely no sense to go back to the taxpayers to solve the current shortfall -- that’s why yesterday I vetoed the majority vote tax increase passed by the legislature," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "With unemployment at an all-time high, we should be doing everything we can to keep jobs and create jobs in California. That is why my Administration immediately contacted Overstock.com when we learned of this news and, I am pleased to announce Overstock.com has reversed its decision and will continue to do business with affiliates here in California.”

Jonathan Johnson, president of Overstock, said: "So long as the governor's feet are planted in concrete, so are Overstock's and we will keep our California-based affiliates turned on."]

Overstock.com, expanding on Amazon.com's recent actions, has canceled its affiliate advertisers in four states, including California, to avoid legislation that would require the online retailer to collect sales taxes from customers.

The other states are Hawaii, North Carolina and Rhode Island.

At issue is a company program that lets thousands of small businesses earn money by posting ads for Overstock and its products on their websites. If a consumer clicks through and buys something, Overstock gives a referral fee to the third-party website.

Currently, states can levy sales taxes on Internet commerce only when the Web company has a "physical presence" in the state, such as a corporate office, store or warehouse. Overstock, for example, is based in Salt Lake City and must collect sales taxes on purchases made online by Utah residents but not on purchases made from residents of other states.

But cash-starved states are looking for new sources of revenue, and several are arguing that these third-party advertising contracts at Overstock and other Internet retailers constitute a physical presence. That would allow the states to collect sales taxes from online sales at such companies.

California lawmakers are proposing a tax on affiliate advertising, but Gov. Schwarzenegger has said he opposes any new taxes.

"It’s awful to have to terminate these relationships with affiliates simply because they live in states where unconstitutional laws are being passed,” said Patrick Byrne, Overstock.com's chairman and chief executive. “However, politicians have to remember that a tax is a price that government charges for a service, and when they raise their prices, we're going to buy less of their services.”

Internet giant Amazon.com pulled its website affiliates in Rhode Island on Monday, three days after canceling the program in North Carolina.

Last year, Overstock canceled the contracts of 3,400 of its New York advertising affiliates and sued the state when New York enacted the first of these anti-Internet-advertising laws. The suit is still pending along with a sister suit brought by Amazon.

Overstock executives say they plan to sever ties with their affiliate advertising websites in any state that passes or "appears to be close" to passing similar laws.

“Internet advertising is a tidy little business that can be done by just about anyone, anywhere on the globe, and when states unwisely and unconstitutionally pass these laws, their local Internet ad business will quickly go dark, and that ad business will simply migrate to states more friendly to Internet commerce," said Overstock.com President Jonathan Johnson.

"In the end, the only thing to be accomplished by these laws will be to put more local citizens out of work -- exactly the wrong choice in a down economy,” he said.

-- Andrea Chang

American Apparel settles lawsuit with Woody Allen for $5 million

With a trial set to begin today, American Apparel opted to pay $5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Woody Allen. The actor-director sued the Los Angeles clothing retailer last year for $10 million for using his image on the company's billboards without his permission.

But don't expect an apology from American Apparel founder and chief executive Dov Charney, who said in a statement that it was his insurance company, not him, that opted to settle. Charney reportedly told journalists outside the New York courthouse that he was "not sorry of expressing myself."

For his part, Allen blasted American Apparel, calling the company's 1st Amendment defense "sheer nonsense" and accusing it of trying "to smear me," the Associated Press reported.

The billboards, put up in 2007, depicted an image of Allen dressed as a Hasidic Jew from the movie "Annie Hall." The company removed both billboards -- one in Los Angeles, the other in New York City -- less than a week later after receiving a complaint from Allen's representatives.

In a statement released today, Charney said the vast majority of the $5-million settlement would be paid by the retailer's insurance company.

"Few people know as well as Woody Allen how difficult it is to explain a joke without killing its humor," he said. "Ironically, I now find myself in the difficult position of having to make a similar explanation to Mr. Allen, a man who has long been one of my inspirations."

-- Andrea Chang

Can you guess what Mrs. Butterworth's first name is?

Since Mrs. Butterworth first arrived on the syrup scene in 1961, her first name has been kept a bit of a secret. But if you can guess just what that first name is, there might be something in it for you from the talking bottle herself.

"Mrs. Butterworth has always had a first name, but it's been passed down over the years to various managers and none of the adults around here thought to use it until an employee's son asked what it was," said Allison Meyer, associate brand manager for syrups at Pinnacle Foods Group, the company that makes Mrs. Butterworth's. "She only talks to kids, so it makes sense that a kid would finally be the one to ask what her first name is."

Inspired by the boy's question, the marketing department at Pinnacle Foods thought a guess-her-name contest would be a good way to reveal her name to the public, Meyer said. And to get a drizzle of promotion on top.

Submissions for the contest require a guess at her first name and an explanation as to why that name came to mind. The winning entry will be posted on www.mrsbutterworthsyrup.com and the winner will receive $500 and a year's supply of Mrs. Butterworth's Syrup.

The contest runs through July 17 and a winner will be selected shortly thereafter. People of all ages, can enter the contest, but those under the age of 13 should submit an entry only with their parent's permission. Entries can be submitted by mail or online.

A poll of The Times' Business section hacks turned up names heavy on alliteration (Bettina, Betty, Betsy, Bertha, Beverly and Beatrice), age (Edna, Josephine, Abigail, Pearl, Gertrude, Daisy, Thelma and Nancy) and feeble attempts at humor (Maple, Margarine and Ralph).

—Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Hasbro and Discovery join to create toy TV mania

As if your kid didn't already have enough to TiVo, what with SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer coming on every day, toymaker Hasbro Inc. and Discovery Communications have decided there's a need for a new TV network for kids. Why is Hasbro involved, you ask? Because the programming is going to be based on Hasbro brands.

Hasbro will own a 50% stake in the venture and will contribute a creative team to create content for the network. If you're curious how Hasbro will choose from its many brands, which include Transformers, Lincoln Logs and the Easy-Bake Oven, the Associated Press says that the programming will be based on brands such as Romper Room, Cranium, Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble. Maybe they'll hire someone really creative and have GI Joe face off against Mr. Potato Head in an epic battle of wits.

At least one children's advocacy group abhors the venture (fittingly, abhors is an anagram for Hasbro). Susan Linn, director of the Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood, called the partnership "a new low in children’s television." She added that "it will make a mockery of existing ad limits and the current prohibition of product placement in children’s television."

Her group is already calling on the FCC to evaluate this new venture and current restrictions on product placement for children's programming.

A programming slate and name for the network will be revealed in late 2010.

-- Alana Semuels

Photo: Mr. Potato Head might be getting ready to be a star. Credit: Striatic via Flickr

Starbucks' tall, grande and venti mean marketing

Ever wonder why Starbucks went all Eurotrash on coffee lovers, who place orders in sizes "tall" (12 ounces), "grande" (16 ounces) and "venti" (20 or 24 ounces, depending on the drink)?

For years, Starbucks customers -- and stand-up comics short on material -- have pondered the matter. If you were in Beverly Hills today at the Milken Institute Global Conference listening to Starbucks executive Michelle Gass explain it, you'd still be wondering.

One audience member braved the question: Why the tall, grande and venti?

“Well, is it interesting . . . ?” Gass responded cryptically of the standard designations of “small,” “medium” and “large.”

Gass, Starbucks executive vice president of marketing and category, spoke to an audience of about 150 at a panel on effective marketing and persuading skittish consumers to spend. As her fellow speakers advised humility and consumer-centric practices, Gass urged businesses to connect with customers on a personal level and to battle the recession by taking risks.

“Don’t be afraid,” she said. “If you make mistakes, you can pick yourself right back up.”

Same goes for consumers, she said. “Amid all the doom and gloom out there, one can feel guilty about getting a haircut or a Starbucks,” she said. But it’s $1.60. It’s not $5,000.”

Meanwhile, 960 miles to the north in Seattle, Starbucks announced that net income for the quarter ended March 31, declined 77% to $25 million, or 3 cents a share as consumers pulled back on spending.

-- Tiffany Hsu

Photo: Looks like a tall, from January. Credit: Associated Press

Lawsuit filed over Enfamil infant formula ads

Infant formula company PBM Products is suing a competitor, trying to stop what the company calls a "false and misleading" ad campaign.

PBM filed suit in U.S. District Court in Virginia against Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. and Mead Johnson & Co., a division of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. Mead Johnson makes the Enfamil LIPIL Infant Formula product.

The suit accuses Mead Johnson of using false implications to undermine confidence in the store-brand formulas that PBM supplies to Wal-Mart, Target and other retailers.

"Mead Johnson stands behind our products, our science, and our marketing," said spokesman Pete Paradossi. "We do not comment on issues in litigation."

PBM alleges that Mead Johnson's national ads tout the Enfamil product as being the only one that contains two specific nutrients, DHA and ARA, that promote brain and eye development in infants. According to the suit, some of the ads suggest that store-brand products will result in fuzzy vision and slower brain development.

But according to PBM, the the store-brand formulas are nutritionally comparable, if not identical, to Enfamil. Court documents filed by the company are available here and here.

-- Tiffany Hsu