Taco Bell Launches TV Ads To Manage Beef Lawsuit Fallout

Associated Press: NEW YORK — Taco Bell is turning to TV commercials to battle damage to its image from a lawsuit questioning its taco filling.

The fast-food chain has been on the defensive since it was pushed into the media spotlight by a lawsuit that claimed the restaurant's seasoned beef filling did not have enough beef to be billed as such. Taco Bell has repeatedly said the claim is false.

The new $3 million television ad campaign comes the week that Taco Bell is due to respond to the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in California.

Taco Bell initially fought back with full-page ads last month in national newspapers. The print ads made a splash with the headline "Thank you for suing us."

The company also launched a social media campaign, urging Twitter users to voice their support. And earlier this month Taco Bell offered Facebook fans a free crunchy beef taco to thank them for their loyalty.

Taco Bell said it planned the TV campaign after company studies showed the previous campaigns reached only about half the population.

"You want everybody to hear it," Taco Bell Chief Marketing Officer David Ovans said. "You have to go to a mass-market, broadcast approach to get the story straight."

The Alabama law firm that filed the lawsuit last month in California has said its testing showed the filling was made of only 35 percent beef and therefore couldn't be called "beef."

The Beasley Allen law firm of Montgomery, Ala. had no comment on Monday.

In the television commercials, Taco Bell employees talk about the filling and direct customers who want to know more about what's in it to the company's Web site.

The commercials don't mention the lawsuit, but emphasize the company's message that the filling is 88 percent beef and 12 percent "signature recipe" consisting of seasonings and other ingredients. They also promote a weeklong deal for an 88-cent Crunchwrap Supreme, which regularly costs $2.39.

WATCH -- "We Stand Behind Our Seasoned Beef!" Taco Bell Ad:

The commercials will run on network and basic cable TV, including sports and news shows.

DePaul University communications Professor Joe Marconi said the new ads are unlikely to have much impact, because customers who enjoy Taco Bell will probably continue to go, while those who don't normally eat there still won't.

The ads risk putting renewed attention on the concerns about the filling, Marconi said.

Laura Ries, president of Ries & Ries, said Taco Bell should taking a more grass-roots approach, including creating a video showing how the meat is made.

"This is a problem that is very difficult to solve with words alone," she said. "It needs pictures."

Marconi suggested Taco Bell post the ingredients at its restaurants.

Taco Bell said its TV ad campaign involves about 20 percent more commercials than it would run to introduce a new menu item.

Taco Bell is owned by Yum Brands, based in Louisville, Ky. Yum said when it released its earnings earlier this month that the lawsuit has had a "negative short-term impact."

Taco Bell has faced other public-relations concerns in the past, including a 2006 E. coli outbreak that sickened at least 70 people and a rat infestation in a New York City KFC/Taco Bell restaurant filmed by a TV news camera in February 2007.

Taco Bell says it serves more than 36.8 million customers a week in almost 5,600 U.S. restaurants.

Comments

[dbrett480]

02:25 PM on 03/10/2011

Who cares what the ads say. Most Taco Bell consumers are too stoned to care what is inside the tacos anyway.

[Pete Mojica]

02:24 PM on 03/10/2011

I know someone who works at Taco Bell and is well familiar with this . . . and his conclusion is "pseudo beef". I guess you gotta have bank to purchase anything real these days.

[schnauzergirl]

11:28 AM on 03/03/2011

I guess what bothers me the most is that the Feds only require something to be 35% beef to call it beef.

[Epilef2000]

08:08 PM on 03/10/2011

well..thank republicans..they are the famous ones who considers "ketchup" a vegetable..

[karela]

07:07 AM on 03/03/2011

If they were smart, they'd go with funny, feel good commercials and make this into the advertising success of the century. We Americans really do love a great commercial. Quick, do you remember how you felt when you watched the young horse training to be a Budweiser horse during Super Bowl? All this free publicity could be USED. Defending themselves that looks like defending themselves isn't nearly as good as making this into a truly memorable opportunity. Wish they'd ask me. I still remember the Burma Shave signs and this one: "You'll wonder where the yellow went when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent" p.s. textured vegetable protein gives me a belly ache when I eat products that contain it and i don't get that at Yo Quiero Taco Bell.

[Morgantheaxe]

10:46 PM on 03/02/2011

This thread is the perfect example of why I despise the vast majority of human beings. An Alabama law firm chose to sue for a buck.......get that......not the American beef council.....not someone who was sickened by the product....not even a vendor or a competitor, but a law firm farming for a tasty settlement (pun intended), and you people are REPEATING their bogus claims directly or by inference. Taco bell claims their product is 88% beef. The only people disputing that is an Alabama Law Firm. Im going with Taco Bell on this one. They say their filling is 88% beef (which is more beef than beef stew has in it) Im believing them. Heck 88% beef is more beef than you end up with if you follow the recipe on a can of sloppy joe for pete's sake!!! Why do people always so cynically look to create drama when there is sooooo much out there that is truly dramatic and requires attention. My god people have a burrito and shut up!!! (Oh and there is zero beef in a regular taco bell burrito its made with beans............gasps!!!)

[abaybay]

03:39 PM on 03/02/2011

When you can buy your food with the coins scattered about your car you shouldn't be complaining. 88 cents gets you the lowest of quality. How would they be turning profits if they were using high grade beef? They wouldn't.

You should know what to expect if you are eating fast food.

If you buy organic ground beef from the store, one burger has approximately 65 mg sodium. if you get a 1/4 lb single stack from wendy's (which is smaller than your home made burger) it contains 1280 mg sodium.

fast food = low quality meat + excessive amounts of salt. you get what you pay for.

[KJLSanDiego]

01:09 PM on 03/02/2011

Hey, you get what you pay for, people!
If most of the food on a menu is less than three dollars, there are going to be a lot of fillers!

[Happylib]

11:16 PM on 03/01/2011

I ate there in my 20s when my wallet called for it and my body could handle it. I got food poisoning from a beef burrito at Taco Bell in '99. That pretty much ended my ability to eat there. I just could not convince my body to get over it. The sight of the restaurant made me queasy. I don't think anyone should be surprised that commercial food product is made with mystery substances.

[Fuddgate]

08:05 PM on 03/01/2011

A little quartz never hurt anybody. It probably helps stimulate the immune system. I only eat there once in a blue moon, but on the whole, I didn't find it to be that bad. I wasn't expecting a gourmet experience.

[callmeslice23]

04:58 PM on 03/01/2011

You people are expecting WAY too much out of your 88 cent burrito...of course there is going to be filler and preservatives.

Deal with it.

[KJLSanDiego]

01:09 PM on 03/02/2011

Yep!

[sisterdebmac]

04:42 PM on 03/01/2011

Yeah, good luck ever getting an ad that shows how the "beef" is made. Never gonna happen.

[baxtron]

04:34 PM on 03/01/2011

Volcano Burrito!!!!!!!!!!! I love you!!!!!!!

[baxtron]

04:31 PM on 03/01/2011

what about the damage to my colon, pancreas, large and small intestine. I'm sorry. I still love you. call me. I'll see you on Friday then?

[brookmo]

02:58 PM on 03/01/2011

Got an idea Taco bell. Ditch the GMO corn in your tortillas, switch to 100% pure beef and you might get some customers back. BLEECH on mystery meat, oatmeal and unnamed and/or unpronounceable ingredients.

[callmeslice23]

04:57 PM on 03/01/2011

Oh, who do you think you're kidding? I bet you've never even eaten at taco bell because they don't have a step for you to get off your high horse.

[jed Houston]

02:39 PM on 03/01/2011

I don't believe for a minute that their taco filling is 88% beef, or ever has been. Almost every fast food operator uses very poor quality beef.

[sisterdebmac]

04:44 PM on 03/01/2011

Yeah, did you ever hear the breakdown of where the dirtiest and cleanest meat goes? The worst goes to schools and fast food restaurants. Big surprise, huh?

[schnauzergirl]

11:36 AM on 03/03/2011

You can still be 100% beef and extremely poor quality. The amount of beef in something is copmpletely separate from the quality of that beef.

There are eight distinct grades of beef recognized by the USDA. In order of descending quality they are:

Prime
Choice
Select
Standard
Commercial
Utility
Cutter
Canner
Studies suggest that beef graded at least USDA Select are likely to acceptable in eating quality for most consumers, so this is usually the lowest grade you’ll ever hear mentioned by name in the supermarket. (Mmm! 100% UTILITY GRADE BEEF!) Unlabled cuts of meat are either commercial or utility grade, or more likely were never graded in the first place. The lowest grades, cutter and canner, are used in disgusting things like potted meat and those meat sticks you find in the gas station. But still all 100% beef

Utility, Cutter, and Canner grades cannot be used in foodservice operations and are primarily used by processors and canners.

[jed Houston]

12:25 PM on 03/03/2011

Thanks for that detailed expo on meat, fortunately, I don't eat any of that on the list, and I'm usually selective about where I get a burger on the rare occasion that I do get one out, no McDonalds for me.

[WhatTheHolyHeck]

03:12 PM on 03/04/2011

Grade is only a part of the story; the rest is what *cuts* they're using. I don't believe for even a moment that Taco Bell's heavily processed meat product uses cuts people would actually cook at home.