Thank You For Suing Us

Thesis

In response to a recent lawsuit, Taco Bell ran a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal stating that the claims made against their seasoned beef were absolutely false. The lawsuit, filed in California courts, accuses Taco Bell of misleading its customers by claiming they use, “seasoned beef” in their products, when in actuality they do not. This Taco Bell advertisement claims that Taco Bell uses 100% USDA inspected beef mixed with water, a blend of unnamed spices, oats, yeast and other ingredients to make its seasoned ground beef; while this may be true, Taco Bell cleverly leaves out multiple ingredients that mislead consumers on what they are actually consuming, effectively influencing consumer perspectives with their large media presence, and inadvertently perpetuating our nations youth obesity crisis.

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Being the largest Mexican fast-food company in America, Taco Bell spends approximately $260 million yearly on advertising, which they use effectively through advertisements such as the one in the Wall Street Journal, to sway the views of their consumers. This specific advertisement declaring that all claims were completely false is a strong statement that only a powerful company, like Taco Bell, could make. By taking aggressive action, Taco Bell tries to protect its strong reputation among its over 35 million customers per week. “In cases like these you have to respond to the public’s perception of the problem as much to the facts of the situation” (CEO, 184), says David Novak, president of Yum! Brands, the largest restaurant company in the world. Through the use of bold statements and rebuttals posted on social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, Taco Bell can quickly change the public’s view of this lawsuit. “Most people are not bothering to check the facts” (WSJ), effectively allowing Taco Bell to reduce the negative impact this type of lawsuit could bring through simple, assertive statements. The power behind the Taco Bell brand was created through a combination of Glen Bell’s innovative technique of saturating neighborhoods with multiple Taco Bell restaurants and the Yum! Brands purchasing cooperative that gives them major leverage in their purchasing options. “Collectively, we buy about five billion dollars’ worth of goods each year, which makes us the biggest buyer of food products in the world” (CEO, 188), says Novak of Yum! Brands. Taco Bell’s ability to make such strong statements, that could potentially have to be rewritten, shows how strongly they believe in the power of their brand. They have created loyalty with their consumers, even if their food isn’t everything it says it is, “If it’s the same stuff they’ve always been selling, I’ve eaten it before, I’ll eat it again,” argues Mike Podlasek, a Taco Bell customer (WSJ).