When is a Whopper not a Whopper? Ask Donald Trump - Stephen Jardine

Even in weird America, Burger King Whopper lawsuit is a special kind of crazy

When is a Whopper not a Whopper?

Ask Donald Trump. The former President now seems to be self identifying as a 15 stone man despite his last White House medical in 2020 recording his weight as being over 17 stone. There have been a lot of burgers under the belt since then but booking in for his latest court hearing in Atlanta, Trump insisted he’d lost over two stone….and also grown an inch in height.

This may be the madness of a narcissist or it could be true. We know Trump loves Burger King and in one of the most unlikely diet stories ever, it now seems he might have got less than he bargained for.

According to a lawsuit in the States, what you see is not what you get when it comes to Burger King. A class lawsuit brought by 20 customers claims they’ve been short-changed because in adverts the brand materially overstates the amount of beef in its burgers.

Even in weird America is surely takes a special kind of crazy to have the time or inclination to take on a burger giant over the veracity of what they put in their bun. Just wait until they discover Pizza Hut isn’t based in a shed.

For its part, Burger King says “reasonable customers don’t expect every handmade burger to look exactly like a photo”. That defence falls down because these people are clearly unreasonable but they also seem to be very determined. The other argument put forward by the burger brand is that “food in adverts is and always has been styled to make it look as appetising as possible”.

That is undoubtedly true. When was the last time you bought a supermarket ready meal that looks anything remotely like the nice picture on the packaging? If everyone is going to start suing because the Chicken Balti just contained some anaemic meat and orange gloop and not the rice, nan bread, sprig of coriander on top and majestic view of the Ganges on the lid of the carton then the courts are going to be pretty busy.

Consumer standards are important. If a burger is advertised as being eight ounces then that is what it has to be served and sold, otherwise the customer is being misled. But the advertising of any product always seeks to portray it in the most attractive way possible.

I once met a food stylist who travelled with a collection of brushes, knives, tweezers and syringes that would put a hardware shop to shame. Her job was to use them to tease, cajole and encourage food to look its best for magazine cover shots.

We can’t expect an 18-year-old who has just completed a basic course in burger flipping to compete with that. They will meet the minimum brand standards but anything over and above that is called marketing.

On that basis the lawsuit in the United States seems destined to fail unless it gets some real impetus behind it. That could come from an unlikely place. Donald Trump once spent $5,000 on burgers for a team of football players visiting the White House and released the images of his largesse to the world. Perhaps be might want to get behind the legal action?

Then again, that might mean another court appearance and that is probably the last thing he needs right now.