Sketchers Shape Ups a Big Hoax? Duh!

We'll Believe Anything

If all I had to do was buy a certain pair of fitness shoes and my butt and legs would look as good at Brooke Burke or Kim Kardashian, then I'd do it! Many people believed the ads and Sketchers sold their Shape Ups at around $100 a pair. Pretty cheap price to get a body like that. The shoes had supposedly been tested by fitness professional and a chiropractor gave her testimonial. The media reports that this chiropractor is a spouse of one of the marketing people from Sketchers. Really?

The Shoes Claim...

According to the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) website:

• An ad that claims consumers who wear Resistance Runner shoes will increase “muscle activation” by up to 85 percent for posture-related muscles, 71 percent for one of the muscles in the buttocks, and 68 percent for calf muscles, compared to wearing regular running shoes. The FTC alleges that in citing the study that claimed to back this up, Skechers cherry-picked results and failed to substantiate its ad claims.
• Other claims include: muscle toning and activation, improved circulations, weight loss, and calorie burn.

Refund

It's pretty bad when the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has to step in to denounce a private company's marketing plan but that is the headline for Sketchers Shape Ups today to the tune of $40 million. If you were one of those unfortunate people who purchased these $100 shoes, the good news is you've got money coming back. The FTC has provided a link to guide you through the process.

Here's a list of eligible shoes: “Eligible Shoes” means the Skechers’ footwear in the following toning footwear lines: Shape-ups rocker bottom shoes (“Shape-ups”), the Resistance Runner rocker bottom shoes (“Resistance Runner”), Shape-ups Toners/Trainers and Tone-ups with podded outsoles (“Podded Sole Shoes”), and Tone-ups non-podded sandals, boots, clogs, trainers (“Tone-ups (Non-Podded Sole)”) purchased as new by Class Members since August 1, 2008.

As to how much you are getting back, the FTC has put a table together showing a range any where from $40-$80. It's on their FAQs page, so scroll down to view it. The link to the actual form was not working at the time of the publishing of this hub. This might be because it is slammed or because it is inactive. Keep trying or call 866-325-4186.

We're Smarter Than This

A couple of years ago, I was back in college and took a speech class. We all had to market a pair of shoes for our group project. Even back then, we were able to find research that refuted the claims of toning shoes. Here are some quotes we used as in our speech:

a)To the Editor: Re ''Firm Body, No Workout Required?'' (Well, Dec. 8): The women buying into Reebok's sexy marketing campaign for EasyTone sneakers seem to be following the path of Dorothy in ''The Wizard of Oz'' -- because she, too, believed her life would be transformed by a pair of shoes. New York Times; 12/15/2009, p4, 0p

b)Our (American Council on Exercise) findings demonstrate that toning shoes are not the magic solution consumers were hoping they would be, and simply do not offer any benefits that people cannot reap through walking, running or exercising in traditional athletic shoes.”

Even in this new millenium, we need to remember that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Nothing can replace eating right and exercising to loose weight and look good. The up side is that if you're in the market for a really cheap pair of shoes, I know where you can get some. Yes, Sketchers Shape Ups are still being sold.