May 6, 22 | 5 min read
Reading time: 4 minutes
After almost a month of advertising its new product in Brazil, McDonalds had to withdraw it from circulation following accusations that the “McPicanha” burger (supposedly named after one of the most popular cuts of meat in the country) actually does not have this meat in its composition, but a sauce that gives the product its flavor. The launch of the burger was even announced on Brazil’s biggest reality show, Big Brother Brazil, which gave the product a lot of publicity.
And its competitor, Burger King, was not syria email list far behind, having also been singled out by Procon (a Brazilian consumer protection office, similar to the CFPB in the United States or Profeco in Mexico) for misleading consumers with the “Ribs Whopper” hamburger , launched at the end of 2021, and which, like McDonalds, is not made with the meat that gives the sandwich its name, but with the sauce and aroma of the flavor.
In addition to being charged by the authorities, both companies received negative repercussions on social media, as consumers were not happy when they found out that the two products were not exactly what they expected. The companies had to respond and even change their menu.
Fake burgers
The McDonalds case occurred at the end of April and the company has since apologized for the misleading nature of the advertisement. In an official statement, it said that “the launches bring the novelty of the exclusive Picanha-flavored sauce (with natural Picanha aroma), a new presentation and a different burger in composition and size.”
The food company has since withdrawn the burger from all Brazilian restaurants. Advertising regulator Conar has opened an investigation into the case.
In early May, Burger King came under fire for the same practice. The “Ribs Whopper” burger contained only “rib flavour and aroma” – no pork ribs. The company said they were “always clear” about their ingredients, whatever that means. The “Ribs Whopper” burger was launched in late 2021, but following the McPicanha scandal, the misleading advertising came to light for people and the media.
Both companies said they included ingredient information in their ads, saying that both "picanha" and "ribs" were simply added flavors to the burger. But they chose to include this information in very small print, which could lead to confusion among consumers.
What about consumer confidence?
Consumer confidence is shaken and will take time to recover. In addition to the broken trust with brands, confidence in the segment has also been damaged.
We have several cases of brands that were inconsistent with their narrative and positioning and suffered a drop in consumer trust recently by omitting information about the function, manufacturing method or composition of their products.
For example, vegan beauty products that were being tested on animals, products that were positioned as fitness and healthy but were actually super caloric, among others.
The list is long and, although it may seem common, brands need to run in the opposite direction to this trend. Mainly, because this movement brought distrust on the part of consumers, who began to lose confidence in brands, then in the segments that were at the center of these scandals and now it has become a purchasing behavior.
Consumers have begun to do more research before accepting brands’ pitches. According to a survey conducted by Adobe , which interviewed nearly 6,000 consumers, more than half (57%) would stop buying from a brand after a breach of trust.
How are brands reacting?
Research shows that 7 in 10 business leaders find it harder to gain and maintain consumer trust today than they did two years ago. And this is a warning for brands, as Brand Trust is an old topic within companies, but it needs to be brought back into the discussion.
Following the cases presented, brands were transparent, kind and admitted their mistake. This is a good way to go, as 71% of respondents said that brands should show empathy by looking at what is offered from the consumer's perspective and understanding what is important to them.
In the Instagram post below, BK apologizes to its customers and says they changed the name of the burger to avoid misleading consumers.
