McDonald's Pays for False Advertising

Published on February 14, 2005 By RonaldMcDonald In Business

McDonald's To Pay $8.5M For Wrong Advertising
Fast Food Chain Incorrectly Advertised Cut In Trans Fat Oils

POSTED: 4:32 pm EST February 14, 2005

McDonald's must pay $8.5 million for advertising claims that it cut trans fat from its French fries.

The golden arches announced the switch to healthier oil in September 2002, but five months later, said there was a delay.

The suit, filed by the consumer advocacy group bantransfat.com, accused the McDonald's of failing to inform customers that the heart-clogging oil was still being used.

Of the $8.5-million payment, $7 million goes to the American Heart Association to educate the public about trans fat in foods.

As part of the settlement, McDonald's is also required to spend $1.5-million publicizing that it didn't follow through on its 2002 pledge.

Comments

ParaTed2k

on Feb 14, 2005

If McDonald's is anything it is the posterchild for why companies shouldn't worry so much about what noncustomers think of them.

Just look at the packaging of their sandwiches over the years. Each change has been to appease environmentalists, nutritionists, vegatarians or other activists. None have done anything to help sales, since none of the people complaining ever buy their products in the first place.

To please the environmentalists, packaging has gone through various incantations from tissuetype paper and paperboard boxes, to styrofoam. The best hamburger they ever had was the McDLT (the one that kept the "hot side hot and cold side cold"). Alas, that burger was killed when (again bowing to non customer pressures) McDonald's went back to paper wrappings.

They have tried veggieburgers and "McLeans", along with various salads that have been met with equally various levels of success. The French Fry process has also been changed from animal fat, to vegetable oil, sugar has been added, reduced and eliminated (well, kind of) and McDonald's no longer (so they claim) fries French Fries and McNuggets in the same grease (to appease all those McDonald's eating vegetarians.

The basic fact is....

Putting hand to (door) handle at a McDonalds loudly and proudly proclaims to the world...

"I REALLY DON'T CARE!!!!!!"

McDonald's would save itself a lot of grief, if it would just understand and accept that. ;~D

Texas Wahine

on Feb 14, 2005

no longer (so they claim) fries French Fries and McNuggets in the same grease (to appease all those McDonald's eating vegetarians

I never thought about that...ewwwww...my fries might be tainted with chicken...yucky...

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