Want to know when you’ve lost the PR battle? When you get headlines like this:
Taco Bell Defends Beef, Calls Suit ‘Bogus’
Taco Bell’s real problem is that this lawsuit doesn’t sound that outlandish. It just confirms a lot of people’s secret suspicions – whether true or not. Taco Bell’s brand promise is cheap, pseudo-Mexican-themed food. Nobody looks at them and thinks, “Good food.” They think, “Inexpensive, filling and no I don’t really want to know what’s in it.” Even the company’s defense plays into this. Chihuahua HQ has put out a press release saying,
“88% of our meat is actually meat. No, really.” You’re not going to win a lot of hearts and minds with that one guys.
What the company needs to do is go with this instead of fighting it. How about an ad campaign with a Lenten theme – “Taco Bell, perfect for meatless Fridays.” Or, “Taco Bell – Fast food for vegetarians.”
[...] to reconnect with consumers and reinforce their faith in Taco Bell’s food. Some are arguing otherwise, but, provided that Taco Bell’s claims — that its meat is 100% USDA-approved and 88% [...]
I was just telling my friend the other day if they made their taco filling vegetarian I would actually start eating there.