SHAKOPEE, Minn. (KARE) - The Better Business Bureau has drastically lowered the rating for the company that makes "My Pillow."
The company's "Buy One, Get One Free" advertising campaign is at the center of what could cause the foam pillow manufacturer some sleepless nights.
The My Pillow company has sold more than 25 million pillows, but the BBB says they aren't playing by the rules.
"It's very tough for businesses in related industries to go up against to compete against ads that are misleading," said Barb Grieman, senior vice president of the BBB in Minnesota and North Dakota.
Earlier this week, the BBB dropped My Pillow's rating from an A+ to an F for a slew of reasons, but mainly for a sale the company has promoted on its infomercials.
"My Pillow advertised the 'BOGO' offer, but they did it continuously and that violates not only the BBB rules, but also the FTC rules," Grieman said.
Grieman says after a sale is offered for an extended period of time, "it becomes the regular price."
The BBB rules, which mimic Federal Trade Commission rules, say an item cannot be on sale longer than it is marked regular price in a given year.
"We approached the company as we always do when we see a violation. They said that they really didn't understand that that is a problem. But that they couldn't change it at that time," Grieman said. "They felt that it would be too distressful for their company."
On top of the BBB's F rating and a million-dollar settlement in a civil case in California alleging false advertising, My Pillow is also being sued in Oregon for allegedly misleading customers with its buy one, get one free offer.
My Pillow inventor and CEO Mike Lindell explained his side of the story to KARE-TV. He said he didn't know how long the BOGO promotion had run, but "it's been successful this past year."
Lindell said he believes his pricing is fair and didn't pull the promotion from his website because he already paid for spots advertising that sale.
"You can't just stop everything. I've committed to media from around the country, too, where I've prepaid for media for my spots, so...it will end this month and my new ads will come out. I don't know what else to say on that," he said.
