Fast food farce: When your sandwich doesn't look as advertised


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SALT LAKE CITY — When you order fast food, how many times has that burger or burrito actually looked like the advertisement?

For decades, the fast-food industry has been plastering its products everywhere you look — TV, Internet, billboards and junk mail. Regardless of the medium, there is one thing that never changes. The food looks flawless.

So in search of that perfect match of advertisement vs. reality, Mike Headrick and the KSL Investigators took their appetites to a dozen fast-food chains in town, hitting the counter and cruising the drive-thru.

In many cases, juicy strips of steak were not bulging from the tortilla, and burgers photographed to be McDoubly stacked kind of looked McDoubly flat. And for a restaurant that touts "we have the meats," side by side, those meats didn't exactly appear to be stacking up. For several days, Headrick got burgers and tacos, coneys and nachos, and finding that "picture perfect" match seemed next to impossible. That said, there were a few items that came pretty close to the advertisement. Check out all the side-by-side comparisons below.

Food stylist Suzy Eaton knows a thing or two about making fast food look amazing for the ads. She's hired by companies to make their advertised meals look as appealing as possible.

"I kind of brag that sandwiches and hamburgers are my specialty," said Eaton.

Eaton said making food look perfect requires quite a bit of folding, pinning, glueing, stuffing, spraying, cutting, sticking … and when the mustard is just a little bit off, she's a master at Q-Tipping.

"They call me in to provide the tricks that make it look like there's more, even though there isn't," explained Eaton.

So if you see the ad and believe giant chunks of sausage and egg are going to be busting out of your breakfast burrito, it's likely a food stylist like Eaton has something to do with that.

"I guess in some ways it could be considered false advertising because it really doesn't look that way," said Eaton. "But I prepare it with the same amount of ingredients that they're preparing for their customers."

Fast food farce: When your sandwich doesn't look as advertised

What does the Federal Trade Commission have to say about it? The truth in advertising act and statement on deception reads that an "ad must be truthful, not misleading," and the commission will find an act or practice deceptive if there is misrepresentation that misleads the consumer.

The FTC tells KSL in recent years the commission has not gone after any claims alleging fast-food ads are deceptive based on photos.

KSL Investigators reached out to several fast-food restaurants, including McDonald's, Subway, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Arby's, for comment. Included in each email were pictures of what was advertised vs. what was purchased.

Only Arby's responded with a statement saying: "It's our goal for every meat crafted sandwich we make to look as good or better than the same sandwiches we feature in our ads. This was obviously not the case in this circumstance and we are working with our local team members to be sure they are crafting sandwiches correctly."

For the full story of all the fast-food comparisons and reactions from consumers, click on the video above and check out the following photos.

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