Forget about burritos, Taco Bell may be saving its best beef for the law firm that tried to charge it with false advertising.
The fast-food chain on April 20 placed full-page ads in The New York Times, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal, all with the same message: “Would it kill you to say you’re sorry?”
The ads are targeting the law firm Beasley Allen, of Alabama, which recently dropped its claim of false advertising against Taco Bell. The suit argued that there was not enough meat in Taco Bell’s fare to meet federal requirements to be labeled as such.
The law firm said that it dropped the suit after Taco Bell changed its marketing and product descriptions. But Taco Bell, which is owned by YUM! Brands – a company with $11.3 billion in sales – said it has made no such changes.
Indeed, Taco Bell has from the beginning stood behind its product, taking out full-page ads attacking claims that its beef tacos and burritos were anything but.
And not surprisingly. YUM!, which also owns Pizza Hut and KFC, states in its annual report that Taco Bell leads the Mexican fast food segment in the U.S., with 52 percent of market share and more than 5,600 locations. That’s a lot of burritos.
And so this might not be the end of Taco Bell’s beef with the law firm. According to it annual report: “Though the Company denies all claims within the lawsuit and intends to vigorously defend its position, the resulting negative publicity regarding its food quality has adversely impacted Taco Bell sales in both company and franchise stores.”
Lost sales often call for some sort of payback.
Taco Bell quiere an apology, and if it does not get one, there could be a counter-suit.
