Bonzi Settles Deceptive Advertising Lawsuit
Bonzi Software, best known for its BonziBUDDY, a purple gorilla that accompanies users around the Net and suggests sites to visit, agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of deceptive advertising. The suit, filed in Washington state in November, accused Bonzi of engaging in a "diabolical scheme" that tricked Internet users into clicking through to Bonzi's site by displaying online ads that mimicked dialog boxes with "message alert," security alert," or "warning" in the creative. The settlement calls for Bonzi to include the word "Advertisement" in the header of all online ads that look like computer system warnings and in the subsequent Web pages a user arrives after clicking such an ad. According to Nielsen//NetRatings' AdRelevance unit, Bonzi was the No. 6 software advertiser online in April, running 141.6 million impressions. Bonzi also agreed to stop using potentially misleading interfaces, such as "x" boxes that do not close an ad. [Full story: Bonzi Settles Deceptive Ad Suit - Internet News]
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