In a recent beef-related bust-up between fast food giants Supermac's and Burger King, Supermac’s has reigned supreme.

The television advertisement which Burger King complained about to the ASAI features an image of a Supermac’s 5oz beef burger accompanied by a male voiceover who referred to the following: "At Supermac’s we understand Irish appetites so we know as well as you do that good things don't need too much messing around. Take our new 5oz beef burger....what makes it different from our international competitors? Well it's fresh, never frozen, 100% Irish beef and cooked to order.”

Burger King said they considered that the statement used in the advertisement "What makes us different to our international competitors? Well it’s fresh, never frozen, 100% Irish beef…." had been phrased in such a way to indicate to consumers that other competitors did not use 100% Irish beef in their burgers.

Burger King said it considered this statement to be misleading as it also uses 100% Irish beef.

The company also said it considered the second statement made in the advertisement, “What makes Supermac’s different to international competitors is that its products are cooked to order”, to be inaccurate and misleading as Burger King makes every Whopper sandwich to order.

Response

Supermac's responded to the complaint by saying the claims that differentiated them to their competitors had to be taken in their entirety.

The company said the point of difference was the fact that they were "the only large quick food service food restaurant chain in Ireland to serve fresh, never frozen, Irish beef".

In light of this clarification, the ASAI concluded that the advertiser's statement "was unlikely to mislead" and said "no further action was required in relation to this advertisement".

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