A lawsuit has been filed against Burger King in the US claiming that its famous Whopper is not as whopping in size as the advertisements lead customers to believe.
Earlier this week, US District Judge Roy Altman rejected the fast-food chain's bid to dismiss the lawsuit in a Miami federal court, ruling that Burger King must defend against the claim that its depiction of Whoppers on in-store menus mislead reasonable customers, amounting to a breach of contract.
Customers in the proposed class-action have accused Burger King of portraying its burgers with ingredients that "overflow over the bun", making it appear the burgers are "35 percent larger" and contain more than double the meat than the chain actually serves.
Burger King countered that it wasn't required to deliver burgers that look "exactly like the picture", but the judge said it was up to jurors to "tell us what reasonable people think" on the matter.
The lawsuit was discussed on AM on Thursday morning, with co-hosts Ryan Bridge and Laura Tupou urging viewers to write in with their thoughts on 'expectation versus reality' when it comes to fast-food offerings.
It led one viewer, named Dan, to give a glowing endorsement to the Burger King outlet in Tokoroa, claiming it always delivers "awesome burgers" with a "pretty close" resemblance to those shown in advertisements. He added that the staff at the Tokoroa McDonald's are also some of the friendliest in the country, a claim Tupou herself backed up, noting she had been to the branch and the food was "very good".
Neil from Lower Hutt also sent in feedback, expressing he was "so glad" the proposed class-action had been levied against the fast-food giant. He added: "We got four burgers from them about two weeks ago. The ones in the pictures look tall and awesome, the ones we got were nowhere near that - I'm sure ours were actually driven over by the driver, we got pancake burgers."
The feedback prompted Bridge to note that he "never" believes what he sees in advertisements, adding: "I'm probably a bit of a sceptical person, but when I see an ad… I think, 'Whatever'. The same goes for burgers, you know it's not going to look like [it does in the ads]."
"But you hope for something that resembles the picture," Tupou countered.
Burger King responds
In a statement on Tuesday (local time), Burger King said the plaintiffs' claims were false.
"The flame-grilled beef patties portrayed in our advertising are the same patties used in the millions of Whopper sandwiches we serve to guests nationwide," it said in a statement.
In his decision, which was made public on Friday last week, Judge Altman also let the customers pursue negligence-based and unjust enrichment claims. However, he dismissed claims that were levied at TV and online ads, finding none in which Burger King promised a particular "size" or weight and failed to deliver.
McDonald's and Wendy's are defending against a similar lawsuit in the Brooklyn, New York federal court, with the plaintiffs' lawyer on Monday citing Altman's opinion to justify letting that case continue.
Taco Bell was also sued last month in the Brooklyn court for selling Crunchwraps and Mexican pizzas that allegedly contain only half as much filling as advertised. Each lawsuit seeks at least US$5 million in damages.
Watch the video above.
Newshub / Reuters.
