In the Competitive Fast-Food Burger Business, Size Matters
10/3/23 – – Justin Chimienti was disappointed whenever he unwrapped his McDonald’s Big Macs and Wendy’s Bourbon Bacon Cheeseburgers. They looked smaller and less scrumptious than the culinary delights featured in the fast-food chains’ advertising. Feeling cheated, he brought the burger companies to court.
This weekend, U.S. District Judge Hector Gonzalez dismissed Chimienti’s proposed class-action lawsuit, ruling that he saw no proof that McDonald’s or Wendy’s served smaller burgers than their advertising depicted.
Judge Gonzalez found the advertising in question to be, “no different than other companies’ use of visually appealing images to foster positive associations with their products.” And he pointed out that consumers can find “prominent, objective information” about the products’ weight and nutritional value on the companies’ websites.
This legal battle over hamburger size and advertising brought back memories of a marketing challenge we were having during my tenure as head of communications for The Taubman Company, owners at the time of A&W Restaurants. Customers were not buying our third-pound hamburger, which we were offering at the same price as McDonald’s Quarter Pounder.
Surprised by the poor sales performance, we hired the highly regarded market research firm Yankelovich, Skelly and White to conduct consumer focus groups and competitive taste testing. Here’s how Alfred Taubman in his memoir “Threshold Resistance” described what we learned:
Well, it turned out that customers preferred the taste of our fresh beef over traditional fast-food hockey pucks. Hands down, we had a better product. But there was a serious problem.
More than half of the participants in the Yankelovich focus groups questioned the price of our burger. “Why,” they asked, “should we pay the same amount for a third of a pound of meat as we do for a quarter-pound of meat at McDonald’s? You’re overcharging us.”
Honestly. People thought a third of a pound was less than a quarter of a pound. After all, three is less than four!
I guess for most people, fractions really are a difficult part of grade-school math. And as Mr. Taubman concluded, we learned an important marketing lesson:
While working hard to differentiate A&W Restaurants from the frozen-food emporiums like McDonald’s, it didn’t help to focus our marketing on a direct comparison with these competitors. That just reinforced the notion that we were one of them. By naming our product a “third-pounder,” we framed our offering within the context of the powerful McDonald’s Quarter Pounder. That diminished the more important messages of fresh beef, healthy menu choices, and frosted mugs of the best root beer in the world.
As for the unsuccessful plaintiff Justin Chimienti, he may want to try the Crunchwraps and Whoppers at Taco Bell and Burger King. Their parent companies Yum! Brands and Restaurant Brands are facing similar lawsuits to his in Brooklyn and Miami. The issue in these complaints is focused more on allegedly deceiving product photographs on in-store menu boards.
If Chimienti introduces himself, he may get free stuff. The outcome of his trial is likely to strengthen the legal positions of Taco Bell and Burger King.
In closing, a fitting story to digest:
The comedian Henny Youngman was paying the cashier after eating breakfast at a busy deli in New York. On the wall behind the counter were mouth-watering color photographs of the restaurant’s bacon, eggs and hash browns. Asked how he liked his meal, Youngman replied, “My compliments to the photographer.”
Crisis Quotient Blog 