Erma Lott

Two of the nation's largest hot dog companies have literally taken their legal "beefs" to federal court. Sara Lee, maker of Ball Park franks and Kraft Foods of Oscar Mayer wiener fame, are making hot dog litigation history. So what's the beef all about?

In 2009, Sara Lee threw the first punch by filing a lawsuit against Kraft. The lawsuit stated that Kraft ads bragged that their hot dogs (Oscar Mayer) beat Sara Lee's (Ball Park) franks in a national taste test. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but the case was made unique because Kraft conducted a massive advertising campaign based on the test results. They used numerous message strategies, including print, broadcast, Internet advertisements and one TV ad that had been seen more than 366 million times.

Sara Lee's attorney argued that the taste tests were deeply flawed, because the testers were not allowed to use condiments, not even ketchup. Of course, Kraft's attorney, Stephen O'Neil objectively stated that the better tasting product (Oscar Mayer) won the taste test over Ball Park hands down.

Kraft counter-sued against Sara Lee for allegedly running false and misleading ads saying Ball Park franks were "America's Best Franks". The ad also added insult to injury by stating that other hot dogs are not even in the same league. Another focus on the trial fight continued when Kraft claimed that their Oscar Mayer Jumbo Beef Franks are made of 100 percent pure beef. Sara Lee disputes this statement and sued Kraft for violating Illinois laws that forbid deceptive trade practices. Kraft says the intent of the ad was to say that the only meat used is beef because some hot dogs contain pork, chicken or other "mystery meats".

The judge weighed in on Sara Lee for similar practices when their ads claimed they received an award as the number one hot dog by ten leading chefs in San Francisco. The Judge was quite comical when he asked, "if 10 chefs from San Francisco have never been to Chicago or tasted a Chicago hot dog, how would they know what the best hot dog is?" However, taste will be least of their problems when the judge determines whether Oscar Mayer or Ball Park franks broke false advertising laws in their efforts to become top dog.

We all know this fight is not about ketchup or hot dogs; it is about sales. In 2010, consumers in the U.S. bought more than $1.6 billion worth of hot dogs, and ate about 7 billion of them from Memorial Day weekend in May to Labor weekend in September. This is clearly a classic advertising case that shows how far companies will go when boasting that their product is better than a competitor's.

What is your favorite hot dog?

Photograph Credit:
Amber Sepulveda