Taco Bell Spills the Beans on Beef

Taco Bell has launched a nationwide advertising campaign to “share the truth” about its seasoned beef in the wake of a lawsuit alleging the chain’s beef contains little actual meat.

The fast-food chain is placing full-page ads in national publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and USA Today, as well as local market newspapers including the Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle. The company is also executing a campaign to reach its Hispanic customers.

To reach consumers online, the company launched a YouTube video featuring Taco Bell President Greg Creed speaking about the facts of the brands “not-so-secret” recipe. The video will be supported with an aggressive online campaign on leading search engines and social media networks.

“Thank you for suing us,” Creed says in the ad, explaining that “our beef is 100 percent USDA inspected, just like the quality beef you buy in a supermarket and prepare in your home. It is then slow-cooked and simmered in our unique recipe of seasonings, spices, water and other ingredients to provide Taco Bell’s signature taste and texture.”

The ad further outlines Taco Bell’s recipe for its seasoned beef, explaining that it’s “88 percent beef and 12 percent secret recipe” and disclosing the “secret” as salt, chili pepper, onion powder, tomato powder, sugar, garlic powder and cocoa powder, along with “a little oats, caramelized sugar, yeast, citric acid, and other ingredients that contribute to the flavor, moisture, consistency, and quality.”

Creed added: “We take any claims to the contrary very seriously and plan to take legal action against those who have made false claims against our seasoned beef.”