Burger King's Whoppers Aren't Whopping Enough According To A False Advertising Lawsuit

BK lovers want it their way 🍔👑

A bacon and cheese Whopper burger. Right: a Whopper burger with a gloved hand on top.

A bacon and cheese Whopper burger. Right: a Whopper burger with a gloved hand on top.

Global Editorial Fellow

Burger King might be in a bit of a pickle over its signature Whopper burger after customers filed a class action lawsuit against the chain for alleged false advertising in the U.S.

The lawsuit filed in Florida last week alleges that real-life Whoppers are "wimpy" compared to the food-porn versions shown in Burger King's advertising. The customers behind the suit want BK to stop "exaggerating" the size of its burgers.

They also want some financial payback for themselves and other potential victims, says the suit.

"Burger King exaggerates the size of its burgers in marketing images," stated court documents obtained by Global News.

The suit claims that since 2017, Burger King has made the Whopper look 35% larger in promotional materials.

Unfortunately for the fast-food giant, it doesn't stop there.

The lawsuit also alleges that nearly all of BK's menu items appear oversized in advertisements.

"Burger King’s advertisements for its burger and menu items are unfair and financially damaging consumers as they are receiving food that is much lower in value than what was promised," states the lawsuit.

The class action suit aims to represent anybody in the United States who feels they've been wronged by Burger King for the same reasons after purchasing one of their items.

Twitter users for years have been tweeting photos of Burger King's advertisements and what they've actually gotten from their local BK.

The "expectation vs. reality" tweets definitely leave something to be desired.

And even this sandwich seems a little off the mark.

Burger King has not publicly responded to the lawsuit, and it told CBS MoneyWatch that "Burger King does not comment on pending or potential litigations."

It's not the first time this issue has come up for the chain. The U.K.'s advertising watchdog banned a BK commercial in 2010 for depicting burgers whose thickness and height were "considerably less" in person than in the ad, BBC News reports.

It's unclear when the new BK burger battle will be resolved in court.

  • Global Editorial Fellow Andrew Mrozowski was the first Global Editorial Fellow at Narcity Canada. He is a recent Honours Political Science graduate from McMaster University and the Editor-in-Chief of the school's student newspaper, The Silhouette. In his free time, he likes to write and record music, as well as obsess over every small Easter egg within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He is always prepared to defend his opinion that Tom Holland is the BEST Spider-Man.

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