Remember that lawsuit alleging Taco Bell engaged in false advertising because its beef really wasn't beef? It was pretty goofy to begin with and eventually dropped, but it did bring out to the world that Taco Bell does use filler in its beef, which anyone who has eaten there in the past, oh, 80 years, could've told you.
What's surprising however, is that Taco Bell itself–which quickly launched an advertising campaign offering free tacos and generally treating the lawsuit as quackery–is admitting the failed lawsuit has put a dent into its business.
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“The negative sales that resulted from the lawsuit have
lasted longer than any one of us thought,” Taco Bell Chief Executive
David Novak is quoted as saying in a Reuters piece. Sales were flat in the first quarter of this year (when the lawsuit was filed), and tumbled 5 percent in the second quarter–and they're expecting another drop in the third quarter.
Wish that it were that consumers were finally wising up to the horrible food at Taco Bell…anyhoo, the Bell says they're going to counter the drop with new food items, although I don't know how they can top the baroque glory that was their burrito with Flaming Hot Cheetos in it…or did I just imagine that one?
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