{"id":1554,"date":"2026-06-08T18:10:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T18:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1554"},"modified":"2026-06-08T18:10:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T18:10:16","slug":"earworm-alert-kars4kids-commercials-arent-going-away-just-yet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1554","title":{"rendered":"Earworm alert: Kars4Kids commercials aren\u2019t going away just yet"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The irksome, though effective, Kars4Kids jingle will remain on the air in California, for the time being.<\/p>\n

Read more De La Salle tabs Lou Cesario as new baseball coach<\/a><\/p>\n

An Orange County judge had ordered the catchy radio and TV ads be taken down by Monday, June 8, for allegedly misleading donors that the money was spent on underprivileged children in California. But the charity got a reprieve Thursday after filing an appeal.<\/p>\n

Without comment, 4th District Court of Appeals Justice Thomas A. Delaney issued a stay on the lower court ban against the ditty.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Kars4Kids ads banned in California after being deemed misleading<\/strong><\/p>\n

So you\u2019ll be hearing \u201c1-877 Kars for Kids\u201d for the time it takes to process the appeal, potentially a year.<\/p>\n

The charity applauded the decision, saying that, contrary to the lower court ruling, the charity does indeed benefit a wide array of children and teenagers in California and beyond.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe uninterrupted airing of its ads will enable the charity to continue funding its programs for children and families,\u201d said Wendy Kirwan, a spokesperson for Kars4Kids. \u201cWe believe the lower court\u2019s findings on the facts and the law were deeply flawed, and we look forward to pursuing a broad appeal of that decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anthony Graham, the Newport Beach attorney for the plaintiff who sued Kars4Kids to end the ads, responded that he was doubtful the charity could present evidence to overturn the Superior Court ruling.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey litigated this for five solid years and didn\u2019t present any evidence of benefit to California,\u201d Graham said. \u201cOn appeal, you\u2019re not allowed to make stuff up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graham estimated that Kars4Kids could generate about $45 million in donations from California if the commercial continues airing for a year.<\/p>\n

Superior Court Judge Gassia Apkarian in May found that the donations fueled an organization in New Jersey that spent the money on matchmaking services for young Jews and trips to Israel for 17- and 18-year-olds.<\/p>\n

Apkarian ruled the radio and TV commercials violated California\u2019s false advertising laws, and gave the company 30 days to remove the joke-inspiring jingle.<\/p>\n

Read more Britney Spears, Dua Lipa songwriter Talay Riley fatally stabbed in London<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Kars4Kids name, when coupled with an advertisement that \u2018does not mention anything\u2019 about its specific mission \u2026 is likely to deceive the public,\u201d Apkarian said in her May 8 ruling. She said the ad improperly made it appear that kids were the beneficiaries to elicit emotional responses and make it financially successful.<\/p>\n

Apkarian noted the people helped by the donations are actually young adults.<\/p>\n

The 30-second ditty, though memorable, has elicited numerous parodies as well as the anger of listeners who find it irritating. One commenter on social media suggested it be played on a loop to terrorist prisoners.<\/p>\n

Apkarian\u2019s ruling was in answer to a lawsuit by Bruce Puterbaugh, who donated a nonoperational 2001 Volvo XC valued at $250. Puterbaugh had heard the Kars4Kids jingle repeatedly over the radio and believed his donation would help needy children in California.<\/p>\n

During the trial, Kars4Kids Chief Operating Officer Esti Landau acknowledged that the two-decade-old ad \u201cdoes not say anything\u201d about the charity\u2019s specific nature. Kars4Kids is a Jewish organization, yet the word \u201cJewish\u201d is absent from the ad; and the primary function of Kars4Kids is to fund Oorah, an organization dedicated to Orthodox Jewish heritage and summer camps in New York and New Jersey.<\/p>\n

Kars4Kids recently posted a lengthy rebuttal to Apkarian\u2019s ruling on its website, featuring arguments that likely will be made to the appellate court.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe media\u2019s incomplete narrative was fueled by a court decision that relied on significant inaccuracies, omissions, and mischaracterizations of Kars4Kids\u2019 charitable work,\u201d the post said.<\/p>\n

The website said Kars4Kids, through its sister charity, Oorah, supports hundreds of California children through mentorships, tuition assistance, after-school programs and summer camp attendance.<\/p>\n

Oorah also provides financial assistance to about 2,200 preschool, elementary and high school students, ages 5 to 17, attending more than 250 schools across the United States and Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile poverty relief is not Kars4Kids\u2019 mission, many children in its programs come from lower socio-economic backgrounds or other challenging family circumstances,\u201d the website said.<\/p>\n

One place you might not hear the earworm jingle: for now, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. has pulled the ads from its airwaves because of the California case.<\/p>\n

Read more Oaxacan \u2018Spirit Guides\u2019 grace Sonoma Botanical Garden for the summer<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The ads were supposed to be taken down by June 8, but the charity got a reprieve last week after an Orange County judge’s ruling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nEarworm alert: Kars4Kids commercials aren\u2019t going away just yet - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1554\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Earworm alert: Kars4Kids commercials aren\u2019t going away just yet - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The ads were supposed to be taken down by June 8, but the charity got a reprieve last week after an Orange County judge's ruling.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1554\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-08T18:10:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1554#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1554\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Earworm alert: Kars4Kids commercials aren\u2019t going away just yet\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-08T18:10:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1554\"},\"wordCount\":750,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1554#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/e724ec3a635fcfc393ebb5cb3231b6a3.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1554#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1554\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1554\",\"name\":\"Earworm alert: Kars4Kids commercials aren\u2019t going away just yet - 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