I think it’s safe to say that most people have a decent grasp on the distinction between advertising and reality. Most of us know that the cheese on our Whopper isn’t going to perfectly placed like the cheese on TV or that the bacon on our Baconator probably won’t be identical to the crispy, glistening bacon we see on the poster. But at what point does fast food cross the line between “acceptably different” from the picture and “completely unrecognizable”?
For example, a reader recently wrote in with their disappointment at Taco Bell’s new Cantina Tacos. Above is a side-by-side comparison of the Bell’s marketing shot and the reader’s camera phone pic of the same item.
Wrote the reader: “The disgusting goo that put in a tortilla and wrapped in foil was quite the disappointment. What they served and what they advertise is COMPLETELY different. I want my $4 AND my ten minutes back!”
Meanwhile, Domino’s Pizza, fresh off its self-flagellating “we know our old recipe sucked” reinvention, recently launched a campaign saying it will only use photos of actual Domino’s pies; no plastic fakes or spray-on glisten for the cameras. The campaign is still in its early stages so it’s too soon to say if it’s having a positive effect or if others will follow suit.
What do you think?
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I know it’s already been said repeatedly, but I would just like to reiterate again (and yes, the redundancy is intentional) that these things, which I refuse to call tacos, are absolutely terrible. They are one of the worst things I have ever eaten and I have had the dubious pleasure of eating balut.
A lot of people have nothing to compare it with though, so some might find this tasty, which is a travesty. Some places don’t have taco stands/taqueria places, where they serve authentic FRESH tacos.
Up until a few years ago, the standard for Mexican food around here, is the bastardized American version of it. Yellow crispy shell, seasoned ground ‘beef’, lettuce, tomato, shredded yellow cheese. Enchiladas, burritos, fajitas, et al. Lame…boring…
I did finally find one place by my house that serves shredded pork carnitas with onion and cilantro served with lime, real pork steamed tamales, grilled fish entrees, sopas, and more.
So fresh, and TONS of it, and they are so nice.
Taco Bell DIAF….
Same goes for any ‘ethnic’ restaurant or chain that serves ‘authentic’ food…yeh right…D.I.A.F
I mean, I really don’t care as long as it tastes good. But honestly, I wouldn’t be able to eat that thing.
I like Burger King’s “have it your way” slogan. Whenever I go, I ask them to make it look like the picture. It never happens. As for the tacos from taco bell, they’re actually trying to cash in on the whole street lunch-truck taco boom. The funny thing is, street tacos actually look like the tacos in the taco bell ads. I wouldn’t know what the taco bell cantina tacos taste like since I am mexican-american and refuse to eat at a restaurant which bastardizes our food or anybody else’s.
I knew they would use that pic for the article. I’m still not sure why people expect food from a fast food restaurant to look like the pictures. Yes yes, I know false advertising this, misleading that. But it’s a given that fast food slaps the food together, so you’ll be lucky to get it even close to what the pictures look like.
I have gotten all 3 kinds 2 times. They are pretty good I think. It’s not the best taco ever, but good. I do like the corn tortilla that isn’t fried.
But yeah, I don’t think mine looked anything close to the ad.
The one that always kills me is the Arby-Q – they show a nice mound of the sliced beef slathered in BBQ sauce in their pictures…what you get is a tablespoon full of some kind of meat so minced that it could easily be a shake. It’s a horrid abuse of advertising.
“Exact” is such a relative term. What I think is “exact” is probably “slightly off” to someone else.
Lol, people are funny. People expect, in a recession no less, to be given something way more than what the price they paid suggests.
Those tacos and Taco Bell’s food in general is cheap…this is Taco Bell’s draw. Taco Bell is owned by a giant corporation who’s purpose is to pump out food in volume as quickly and cheaply as possible to widen their profit margin. These tacos are exactly what you pay for. The picture that you complain about suckered your ass in and got you to buy the product.
You want a good carnita taco? Go to a small taqueria whose sole purpose isn’t to pump out quantity….otherwise pay (cheaply) for a cheap taco and get a cheap taco. Taco Bell’s not exactly authentic Mexican food and everyone with more than 1 brain cell knows this….if you go there for tacos to begin with you shouldn’t be allowed to complain.
An excellent example of abject failure.
I love how you completely missed the point of this article, and instead went on a tirade about how unworthy anyone who would eat at Taco Bell must be.
This is about truth in advertising. That’s it. Now STFU and GTFO.
It has gotten to the point with food advertising it isn’t even going to look close to the pictures anymore & this should be called False & misleading advertising period.
I for one have decided if it isn’t even in the same universe as what they show I will request my money back on the spot since you pay for most food in advance now days before you can see it.
Actually, we went to a local Wendy’s after moving from Kentucky to Vancouver Washington and I ordered possibly the worst thing on the menu, the Baconator, it NEVER looks like the menu item and is always greasy and soggy.
So, I took a picture and asked if I got the right sandwich, I was told yes, they stick to quality control at this store.
Everytime i want a Wendy’s fix, this is the store I go to now. Even though there is one closer to me I still go the extra 2 miles for the good stuff.
http://picasaweb.google.com/flyingwolf/Miscellaneous#5506198650895888882
Those cantina tacos are crap. If you want real authentic tacos visit a taco truck or a mexican restaurant. Where the food is made to order.
I just tried those cantina tacos and they taste pretty similar to what I get at the taqueria carts in south Texas. Corn tortilla, spices, meat and veggies..that’s what a traditional taco is. People who say they taste gross are just missing the cheese and sour cream and bacon and whatever else we’ve added to “tacos” over the years.
Several comments pointed out that “Hey, fast food never looks good, so we shouldn’t expect it to?”
I’m going to counter point and say:
“Hey, Oil Companies spill oil all the time! We shouldn’t be angry when they do nowadays.”
“Hey, banks pull people out of lines to upsell things all the time! it’s normal to get pulled out and your money held hostage.”
Just because it’s the ‘norm’ doesn’t make it any more right. If anything, customers expecting utter crap after getting advertised the second coming should be a big warning bell to the local governments that they need to step in.
I find that Arby’s is among the worst when it comes to reality not resembling the ad.
I need to know: Does this taco actually come with the lime wedge?
I saw an ad for some pants that I liked, so I bought them, but when I got them home I realized I was not cool and not on in a rock band like what I saw in the picture.
I should write a letter to someone.
I was at a movie not too long ago, and ordered some nachos. The picture shows the tray over flowing with nachos, with cheese, salsa, jalapenos, etc. What I get presented to me is the tray literally not even half full of chips, and a tiny bit of cheese. I asked where the rest of my chips were, and was told that was the allotted amount. I pointed out the discrepancy between the picture, and what I received, and was offered a bag off popcorn as compensation. I begrudgingly accepted, and will be avoiding the nacho tray in the future. Amount of food represented to what is produced is a big issue as well – especially when spending $9 on a tray of nachos!
Why should fast food be any different than frozen TV dinners? It should be a criminal offense to be able to show such deceptive photos.
I voted for must at least be recognizable. I know all about the fake food / lard ice cream / plastic lettuce / glisten spray they use in ads. It’s okay if it’s not perfect. But my food should look like what I ordered, not like something completely different.
Okay…they don’t look THAT bad like shown on the pic. I actualy got nice ones the other day of which i could have taken a pic and fiddled with minor photo adjustments to make it look pretty much like the menu picture.
I think Taco Bell is trying to move in on Taco Cabana. Good try, but no pinata!
Why goto Taco Bell when there is Taco Cabana? They’re like a step up from Taco Bell in terms of food quality — still fast food though.
….or are these only in Texas like HEB’s?
Hurray for settling for mediocrity. Why demand more from companies when you can simply accept less? That’s the American way!
Hurray for settling for mediocrity. Why demand more from companies when you can simply accept less? That’s the American way!