Kars4Kids Jingle Banned in California After Judge Finds Ads Misleading

A California judge has ruled that the nonprofit organization Kars4Kids can no longer air its well-known advertising jingle in California after finding the company engaged in misleading advertising as part of an ongoing federal class action dispute.

In a permanent injunction issued in Orange County Superior Court, the judge found that Kars4Kids advertisements, including its popular jingle, were “misleading by omission” because the organization failed to disclose that donation funds were used to support its sister organization, Oorah.

According to the ruling, Kars4Kids advertisements suggested donations broadly supported underprivileged children across the United States. Court filings said the ads did not clearly disclose that donations supported Oorah, whose programs primarily serve Orthodox Jewish children and families.

Court filings allege that donation funds helped support activities including summer camps, matchmaking services, and Birthright Israel-related travel and gap-year programs for Orthodox Jewish teens and young adults.

The ruling followed a 2021 lawsuit filed by California resident Bruce Puterbaugh, who argued the organization failed to disclose its affiliation with Oorah in its advertising materials.

A separate federal class action lawsuit filed in November 2025 in the Northern District of California by law firm Keller Grover accused Kars4Kids of misleading donors about how donated vehicles and funds were used.

Separate allegations in the federal class action claim that Kars4Kids spent more than $16.5 million constructing a building in Israel, and that its California charitable activities were largely limited to a backpack drive program that plaintiffs argued primarily functioned as a marketing effort to generate additional donations.

Under California consumer protection laws, organizations can face false advertising claims not only for misleading statements, but also for failing to disclose information courts consider material to a donor’s decision.

Kars4Kids is a Jewish 501(c)(3) vehicle donation nonprofit that operates in the United States, Canada, and Israel. Since at least 1994, the organization has promoted itself as a charitable donation program where individuals and businesses can donate cars, boats, yachts, and real estate.

The organization has denied the allegations and said it plans to appeal the ruling, arguing the lawsuits mischaracterize how its charitable programs operate.