Weight Watchers says Jenny Craig will end ad campaign as part of a legal settlement

Weight Watchers: Jenny Craig to end ad campaign

NEW YORK — Weight Watchers International Inc. said Friday that rival Jenny Craig will end a controversial advertisement campaign as part of a legal settlement between the two weight-loss companies.

“We are pleased that Jenny Craig will no longer be allowed to continue using this false and misleading advertising, now and in the future, and to put this situation behind us,” Weight Watchers President and CEO David Kirchhoff said in a statement.

Weight Watchers had charged in a lawsuit last month that Jenny Craig’s ads made false and misleading claims. The ads referred to a study comparing Weight Watchers current weight-loss program and Jenny Craig’s prepackaged meals system.

Weight Watchers, based in New York, previously said no such study had been done and that the claims in the ads were not supported by fact or science.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York had implemented a temporary restraining order at the time barring Carlsbad, Calif.-based Jenny Craig from broadcasting, publishing or distributing the ads through other means.

Shares of Weight Watchers fell 32 cents to $28.40 in midday trading.