Burger King Grilled In Lawsuit For Misrepresenting Whoppers In Ads
Whoops—a lawyer in South Florida is bringing a federal lawsuit against Burger King for allegedly misleading customers by portraying its famed Whoppers as much larger in advertisements as compared to what’s served in real life.
Seeking class-action status, attorney Anthony Russo claims the fast-food chain has been lying about the size of its burgers since September 2017, before which he said it was represented “more fairly.”
According to NBC News, Russo and the plaintiffs are arguing that the Whoppers presented on television are 35% larger than what you get at the restaurant, and feature double the meat patties of the actual burger.
One hundred people are part of a federal class action lawsuit against Burger King for misrepresenting burger sizes by 35%.
— Trung Phan (@TrungTPhan) April 7, 2022
The legal filing is exactly as you would imagine: pic.twitter.com/BZ2cHRE5ak
Interestingly, the suit cites YouTube food reviewers and Twitter complaints as some of the “witnesses” on the matter.
However, as strange as it may sound, this isn’t the first time Burger King has been called out for its advertising practices.
12 years ago, advertising regulators in the UK admonished the restaurant for serving customers burgers that had “considerably less” height and thickness than what it had marketed.
While it isn’t clear if Russo’s lawsuit will get anywhere, he said the purpose behind it was to advocate for greater transparency in the advertising industry.
Using the example of a vehicle, he said that advertisers wouldn’t be allowed to use Photoshop to enhance its size or features, and believes that such rules should apply to other industries as well.
As NPR reports, over 280 such cases were filed against businesses in 2021, a trend believed to have been sparked by a New York woman’s lawsuit against Pop-Tarts over the number of strawberries the treat contained.
At the moment, Burger King has refused to comment the matter, though Russo and the plaintiffs will no doubt be hoping to be served up justice instead of a sad-looking burger.
[via NBC News and The Washington Post, cover image via Deutschlandreform | Dreamstime.com]
