Difference between advertised and actual burger sizes results in a lawsuit

| May 18, 2022

McDonald’s and Wendy’s are facing a lawsuit arguing that their advertisements are misleading. The lawsuit describes the advertised hamburgers as larger than the actual ones sold. The lawsuit continues to describe these deceptive ads as diverting individuals from restaurants with honest advertisements.

From Fox News:

Much like the complaint Russo and Kelly filed against Burger King on March 28, the complaint against Wendy’s and McDonald’s cites various food reviews on YouTube and lifestyle publications that note inconsistencies in menu item sizes and advertisements as well as a list of protests made public on social media.

Unlike the Burger King complaint, this filing cites a 2014 video interview with personal finance news website Money Talks News, where a food stylist revealed she prefers to undercook burger patties so it has a fuller appearance. In the video, the stylist works with “a simple burger purchased from a grocery store,” according to the narrator, who is also the founder of the news site.

The stylist has worked with Wendy’s and McDonald’s, according to her online portfolio.

FOX Business reached out to the stylist, Wendy’s and McDonald’s for comment.

Russo and Kelly’s class-action complaint alleges that “meat shrinks 25% when cooked,” but Wendy’s and McDonald’s burger patties appear “approximately 15-20% larger” in ads compared to what’s served to customers in real life.

The complaint claims Wendy’s “materially overstates” the patty size and topping amount in its Bourbon Bacon Cheeseburger.

It also names 18 other burgers that have “overstated” representations depicted in advertisements, including the Big Bacon Cheddar Cheeseburger, the Big Bacon Cheddar Cheeseburger Double, the Big Bacon Cheddar Cheeseburger Triple, the Bourbon Bacon Cheeseburger Double, the Bourbon Bacon Cheeseburger Triple, Dave’s Single, Dave’s Double, Dave’s Triple, the Baconator, the Son of Baconator, the Big Bacon Classic, the Big Bacon Classic Double, the Big Bacon Classic Triple, the Bacon Double Stack, the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger, the Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe, the Jr. Cheeseburger and the Double Stack.

As for McDonald’s the complaint claims the fast food chain “materially overstates the size of the beef patties for nearly every menu item in its current advertisements.”

Fox News has the rest of the story here.

Category: Society

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Hondo

Gee, just what we need – another “lawsuit of great public importance” in the court system.

Yes, I’m being sarcastic.

ruralcounsel

And yet huge sums of money are in play here. It doesn’t take much of a shortchanging multiplied by millions of times per day to add up.

This applies to a lot of different things which we buy frequently or in large quantities.

Imagine if your gas pumps really only gave you 98% of a gallon for every time you thought you pumped a gallon. Two percent times $4.00 times 15 gallons is $1.20 every time you fill up. Now multiply that times the number of times a day someone fills up their vehicle.

Theoretically, official inspections of weights and measures are meant to prevent this. But it doesn’t hurt to have citizen watchguards keeping an eye on things too. It incentivizes fair dealing in the marketplace.

tshe

I suspect we will all eventually get a postcard in the mail offering us a chance to be part of a settlement in a class action lawsuit. When we sign up, we will eventually get a check in the mail for 76 cents along with waiving our right to sue individually. Maybe instead of a check we will get a coupon for a free mid-size fountain drink. Our legal system at work.

ruralcounsel

Yes, class-actions are pretty much a scam, but they do tend to strip ill-gotten profits away from cheaters. Even if it only enriches the law firms representing the class. Half a solution.

Anonymous

If the lawyers get 95% “overhead” of the $$$zillion settlement, I’ll hold out for a complete Happy Meal or pizza at least.

Roh-Dog

Enumerated powers be enumerated and sheeet, i.e. weights and measures, Advertisements are free speech less they make intentionally spurious claims (which I think is bull. Big Daddy Gov is here to save us all!!!)

This is just lawfare by preverts. (h/t to COL Bat Guano)

If you don’t like the size of a meal the damages are a one-time event, unless you’re dumb enough to go back for seconds.

ruralcounsel

FYI, it isn’t government filing the suit. Spurious claim can be words OR images.

Roh-Dog

Tort is a lie via bastardization. Absolute rights are absolute.

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SFC D

You make a good point. But this lawsuit is about the appearance of the burger being larger in the advertisement. It’s still the same 1/4 pound (precooked weight) burger they claim it is. You are getting exactly what they say you are. It’s called marketing.

Anonymous

Yup. You didn’t hear Ralphie suing about it, too.
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ruralcounsel

That’s what the lawsuit will decide.

Hack Stone

Class Action Lawsuit. Millions will be awarded, consumers get a coupon for $1 of at the offending restaurant, and the “lawers” pocket 98% of the settlement.

Anonymous

Almost as much as the one that forced “Contents hot, do not spill on crotch!” to be on McDonald’s coffee cups.

Hate_me

I hope they never settle. Fight it in court for a million years. A 1/4 lb before cooking is a 1/4 lb before cooking. Stupid is not a defense and fast food is not haute cuisine.

I hate to side with McDonald’s, but I’m on their side in this. Bleed them for all they’re worth. Never settle (unless they actually shortchanged the size of the pre-cooked patties).

MI Ranger

I am not fluent in legalize, and have not had the chance to run the law suit through Google translate, but isn’t this about the pictures not any actual stated weight or measurement!?
It has been known for years (at least since I was little) that the pictures of the food were not the actual food you would be getting!
We need to adopt the German Tort system: Fine them for wasting the courts time, and being an idiot (aka Oxygen Thief)!

AW1 Rod

I doubt the difference in size between the advertised and delivered products will matter much to Michael Moore, Rosie O’Donnel or Oprah, who will make it up in added volume.

SKYJUMPER

AW1 Rod.
Yeah, but it might mean a big deal to these people.
How will they ever keep up there strength doing secret squirrel missions with out the proper amount of nutrition? (grin)

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AW1 Rod

Indeed!

e.conboy

Ask Joy Behar what she thinks, or maybe don’t, she’ll tell you anyway. She’ll even tell you what YOU think.

timactual

I almost down-voted your comment just because you named that crone. Guilt by contamination, I guess.

26Limabeans

Phew…I didn’t see Joe and Nemo’s on the list.

KoB

Nothing is ever as it is depicted in pictures. Nature of the beast. I mean, for reelz…anybody ever dated a female with staples in her belly button?

RGR 4-78

In the ads it is easy to see what is between the buns, in real life you have to lift the buns to see what’s in it.

Where’s the beef?

Wireman611

Piercing? Yup

jeff LPH 3 63-66

I remember sitting at the woolworths five and dime store’s food counter and the pictures of the meals were above the menu listing on the wall and what you got was not what it looked like on the above picture. any of you 50’s greasers remember???

rgr1480

I guess they should’ve followed Ikea’s advertising model. I saw this large banner and about had a conniption fit! (^__^)

Ikea-Size.jpg
Last edited 1 year ago by rgr1480
A Proud Infidel®™

Somewhere a Bernathian Lawer is drooling over this thinking about the money to be made.

Steve 1371

What really-pisses me off is when I order a pint of beer and get a glass with an inch of head bellow the rim!

Steve 1371

Thats an inch short of a pint!

timactual

That’s why I like the German bier glasses where the “.5 liter” mark is an inch below the rim of the glass; the head doesn’t count.

David

Maybe a compromise would be no damages paid, but advertising would be forced to show the actual products as they’re actually served.

Roh-Dog

Compel the ad writers to include a graduated straight edge for perspective. Have Commerce Department, FDA, SEC, etc. ‘officials’ supervise, confirm and certify the ad copy.

It’s the only way to be sure.

Or we can use White House petition to create a Burger Czar, maybe slide the position under NIH and Joey PeaNUTs can appoint another trannie!

HEY WH! I NEED JOB!

Edit: The man known as “”Doctor”” Rachel Lavine is at HHS, not NIH. Roh-Dog would regert the error, but he doesn’t give a sh!t anymore.

Last edited 1 year ago by Roh-Dog
RGR 4-78

appoint another trannie!”

Where’s the beef? 😆 

timactual

“…their advertisements are misleading”

How does anybody over the age of 5 still believe that advertisements depict reality?

Roh-Dog

“These [locals] are disturbing a 2 billion dollar industry”

“[Your state] residents are getting FREE solar!”

“Troubles in the bedroom? Leave every woman satisfied!” {image of pills}

“Cut your belly fat with this one weird trick” {some goop that looks like chia seeds}

McDamher’s and that redheaded c*nt are the LEAST of our worries.

Last edited 1 year ago by Roh-Dog
timactual

And who could forget the “Sea Monkees” advertised in comic books? I haven’t! I have never recovered from the disappointment.

A Proud Infidel®™

“ME WANT super-duper-size Burger with extra-big fries, and ME WANT to smoke cigarette after. BUT YOU NEED TO wear mask, so you no threaten MY health!”