Announced Actions for May 7, 1996

The Federal Trade Commission today announced the following action. The FTC staff contact is Joel Winston, 202-326-3153, or Toby Milgrom Levin, 202-326-3156.

Consent agreements given final approval: Following a public comment period, the Commission has made final consent agreements with the following entities. The Commission action makes the orders binding on the respondents.

Azrak-Hamway International, Inc., which distributes toys through its Remco Toys Division, and Azrak-Hamway’s advertising agency, Starwood Advertising, Inc., regarding ads for the Steel Tec line of toy vehicles. The consent orders settle charges that the ads used off-camera techniques to show the toys speeding, flying or peeling out of dirt under their own power -- performance capabilities the toys don’t actually have. The orders prohibit the use of similar deceptive demonstrations and certain other misrepresentations. In addition, the Azrak-Hamway order requires the toymaker to offer full refunds to consumers who bought Steel Tec vehicles (consumers should call 1-800-243-2961 for a refund application), and to notify television stations that ran the challenged ads of the FTC action and of the availability of guidelines for children’s advertising developed by the Better Business Bureaus’ Children’s Advertising Review Unit. Azrak-Hamway is based in New York City; Starwood is based in Aspen, Colorado (see Feb. 13, 1996 news release for more details about the consent orders; Commission votes 5-0 on May 2, 1996; Docket Nos. C-3653 (Azrak-Hamway) and C-3654 (Starwood)).

Copies of the documents referenced above are available from the FTC’s Public Reference Branch, Room 130, 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580; 202-326-2222; TTY for the hearing impaired 1-866-653-4261. To find out the latest news as it is announced, call the FTC NewsPhone recording at 202-326-2710. FTC news releases and other materials also are available on the Internet at the FTC’s World Wide Web site at: http://www.ftc.gov

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