Taco Bell has answered the bell for round two and come out swinging in a defense against the class action lawsuit challenging the content of the chain’s seasoned beef. Taco Bell announced Friday that it is “setting the record straight” with a nationwide ad campaign to share the truth about its seasoned beef. 

Taco Bell is placing full page ads in national publications including Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today as well as in local market newspapers including Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Orange County Register, San Diego Tribune, and San Francisco Chronicle.  The company is also executing a campaign to reach its Hispanic customers. The ad has a boldface headline that reads, “Thank you for suing us.”

Earlier this week an Alabama law firm filed a class-action lawsuit against the chain saying taco meat they call “seasoned beef” is only about 36 percent meat. The firm says it tested the “meat mixture” and found that it contained ingredients like water, wheat oats, soy lecithin, maltodrextrin, modified corn starch and an anti-dusting agent.

According to the complaint, Taco Bell does not meet the minimum requirements set forth by the USDA to label its product as “beef” and uses false advertising.

Now Taco Bell is counterpunching with its ad and P.R. campaign.

Reaching out to consumers online

To reach consumers online, the company launched a YouTube video featuring Taco Bell President Greg Creed addressing the facts of the brand’s “not-so-secret” recipe.  The video has been placed on the company’s YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/tacobell), Facebook page (www.facebook.com/tacobell), and website (www.tacobell.com) supported with an aggressive online campaign on leading search engines and social media networks.