Taco Bell is striking back against a lawsuit that challenges the actual beef content in the chain's beef tacos, illustrating how vulnerable companies can be in a viral age. But the company's response also shows how a suit's target can use social media to mount a speedy and far-reaching defense.
Days before Taco Bell was even served with the lawsuit—which was filed by a disgruntled customer on Jan. 19—news of the allegations that the restaurant chain's taco mixture consists of more filler than meat spread widely on the Internet. Stephen Colbert already has parodied the claim on his Comedy Central show, "The Colbert Report."
Taco Bell, a Yum Brands Inc. unit with almost 6,000 stores world-wide, responded swiftly with a spicy and potentially risky retort to the lawsuit. Its rebuttals include full-page newspaper ads headlined, "Thank you for suing us."
The chain also reacted with Facebook postings and a YouTube video. In the video, company President Greg Creed says the taco mixture is 88% beef—not the 35% beef the suit claims—with ingredients such as water, oats, spices and cocoa powder added to provide flavor, texture and moisture.
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