Why Some Say a Whopper Needs a New Name

Most fast food companies have been in court recently.

And it’s not the food court.

Fast Food Images

Rising fivefold, the number of class action lawsuits against food and beverage companies rose from 19 in 2008 to 101 during the first half of this year.

The suits against Burger King and Taco Bell are similar. The Burger King class action suit focuses on the size of its Whopper with litigants claiming the actual burger is 35 percent smaller than the menu images in its stores. Meanwhile, Taco Bell is answering to claims that its Mexican Pizzas and Crunchwraps contain a smaller quantity of beans and beef than its images indicate.

Other suits against Wendy’s and McDonald’s point out the undercooked patties in ads shrink when fully cooked. So, before and after, you do have a quarter pounder, but they look somewhat different.

Our Bottom Line: Thinking at the Margin

As diners at Burger King, we see images that indicate burgers overflow the bun when the real ones do not. Switching to our economists’ lenses, we can say the ads take our thoughts toward the margin. As the imaginary line where we decide if we want something extra, the margin is where we make all of our decisions. When we hit snooze on our wake-up alarm, we are thinking at the margin about extra sleep. Looking through the same marginal lens, employers decide if they need extra employees. Also thinking at the margin, we reach for another slice of pizza and drive 10 miles faster than the speed limit.

Returning to the fast food lawsuits, we can ask if the different margins really matter. The litigants’ attorneys say it’s about truth in advertising. Responding, Burger king told Axios the claims were false.

My sources and more: Thanks to my Axios PM newsletter for alerting me to the Whopper lawsuit. Meanwhile, for more about the Taco Bell class action suit, do take a look at Food & Wine. And finally, Reuters had the Wendy’s and McDonald’s ad stories.