For a fast-food chain, the news should have been devastating: two California law firms joining forces to file a class-action lawsuit claiming that the beef Taco Bell served customers was mostly things other than beef.
The law firm said the beef at Taco Bell was actually 65 percent extenders, binders, preservatives and other ingredients that didn't meet federal requirements to be labeled or sold as beef. It accused Taco Bell of false advertising.
The lawsuit made a big splash in the media.
It brought back memories of the classic Wendy's ad campaign, "Where's the beef?" and gave comics fodder for easy jokes.
Then Taco Bell did the unexpected.
It didn't get defensive, put out a brief statement or ignore the lawsuit.
Taco Bell went on offense in a unique way.
The president of Taco Bell posted a 70-second address on Youtube and multiple statements on a special section of the company's website, with a prominent link to that section on the home page of Taco Bell.
Taco Bell took out full-page ads in the nation's major papers with the headline, "Thank you for suing us."
The counter-attack had a simple, consistent message. The lawsuit is wrong. Plain ground beef is boring. We use seasoned beef -- 88 percent beef and 12 percent secret recipe of spices and seasonings. And here's our not-so-secret recipe, including salt, chili pepper, onion powder, tomato powder and so forth.
This counter-attack wound up getting more attention than the lawsuit.
It was clear and confident and unafraid of the facts.
With a story as big as this, there's no shortage of groups that might test those facts. A curious reporter for CNN or the New York Times might buy a beef taco and ask independent scientists to test how much beef is actually inside.
The federal government might check.
And if the lawsuit goes to trial, the focus of the trial -- maybe for weeks -- will be on scientific tests on that beef.
The confident response made it apparent that Taco Bell is comfortable with a battle about the facts. Unless a credible source releases test results that confirm what the law firms are alleging, what started out as a public relations disaster for Taco Bell was reversed by a quick, bold and confident response.