A Florida judge ordered Burger King to defend itself in court against accusations that its Whopper sandwich isn’t as big as its advertised.
Despite the fast food giant’s attempts to dismiss the case, the class action complaint brought by unhappy customers in more than a dozen states can officially move forward, the judge ruled Monday.
That suit alleges Burger King advertises its Whoppers “as large burgers compared to competitors and containing oversized meat patties and ingredients that overflow over the bun to make it appear that the burgers are approximately 35% larger in size, and contain more than double the meat, than the actual burger.”
The plaintiffs claim Burger King began to “materially overstate the size of its burgers” in ads dating back to 2017.
Their attorneys argue that their clients “bought specific Burger King food items at Burger King stores in their resident states, and that they were duped by the promotional images of the burgers they saw online, on TV and on Burger King’s menu-ordering boards.”
The chain has conceded that photographers shooting its ads may have “styled sandwiches more beautifully” than fast-food workers make them in real time, but denied cheating customers, according to Reuters.
The company said the burgers they use in their ads are made from the same patties served to customers and called claims to the contrary “false.”
In 2022, a New York man sued McDonald’s and Wendy’s similarly accusing those companies of serving smaller burgers than advertised, though his beef was dismissed in 2023.
