--- title: "Lawsuit: Juul Targeted Kids with Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network Ads" description: "In a new lawsuit, the state of Massachusetts claims that fashionable vape brand Juul explicitly marketed to kids — with eyebrow-raising ad buys on the websites of tot-friendly sites including Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, as well as gaming sites aimed at young children. “Juul knew it was selling to kids,” said state Attorney General Maura […]" date: "2020-02-13" modified: "2020-02-13" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/lawsuit-juul-targeted-kids-nickelodeon-cartoon-network-ads" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "health" - "juul" - "smoking" - "vaping" --- # Lawsuit: Juul Targeted Kids with Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network Ads ![In a new lawsuit, the state of Massachusetts claims that fashionable vape brand Juul marketed to kids with ad buys on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.]() *\Image: Victor Tangermann\* In a [new lawsuit](), Massachusetts prosecutors claim the market-dominating vape brand Juul marketed explicitly to kids, with ad buys on gaming websites aimed at young children, and — even more insidiously — tot-friendly TV websites including Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. "Juul knew it was selling to kids," said state Attorney General Maura Healey at a news conference, as [reported by *BuzzFeed News*](). "They plastered the internet." Juul's [long claimed]() its target market as former smokers looking for less dangerous ways to get a nicotine fix. While there's no question that many have found it effective for that purpose, its USB-stick-shaped vapes once came — prior to being banned — in candy and fruit flavors including cucumber and mango that [proved irresistible to adolescents](). Now, Massachusetts' aggressive lawsuit looks like an attempt to truly nail the company to the wall (and earn a massive payout or state settlement) for what prosecutors say was a longstanding pattern of attempts to woo lucrative underage users. One of the juicer bits of the lawsuit, however, involves the accusation that Juul bought banner ads on websites almost exclusively of interest to kids and teens, including Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and the magazine *Seventeen*. It bought similar ads, the suit says, on other sites targeted directly to young children including AllFreeKidsCrafts.com and GirlGames.com. According to the suit, the ads were part of Juul's "Vaporized" campaign, which [earned accolades]() in the ad industry back in 2015. Digital ads from the campaign [archived by Stanford University]() show youthful models posing with with Juul units on colorful backgrounds. ![]() "You're doing your math homework and up pops an ad for Juul," Healey said, according to *BuzzFeed*. In a statement to *BuzzFeed,* Juul spokesperson Austin Finan pushed back against the suit. "We do not intend to attract underage users," he said. Well then! The suit also alleges that: - Juul schmoozed with teen-friendly celebs and influencers ranging from Miley Cyrus, Robert Pattinson, and Kirsten Stewart to Claudia Oshry and Cara Delevingne, in hopes of accumulating clout among underage users. - Juul continued to send email ads to hundreds of thousands of addresses that didn't pass its age-verification process. - The company also often used marketing images of cool-looking young people posing with its vapes. In other words, this is a nose-to-tail attack not just on Juul's marketing strategy — but arguably, on its core brand identity as well. ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()