McDonald's cheesburger
Mayukh Saha
Mayukh Saha
December 28, 2023 ·  2 min read

A Woman Once Sued McDonald’s Because She Believed Their Ads Made Her Eat Cheeseburgers

In 2021 a woman from Omsk, Russia sued McDonald’s over an advertisement. She believes it led to her eating cheeseburgers during Lent. This Orthodox Christian, Ksenia Ovchinnikova, broke her fast-to-consume cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets. She also stated that she had been trying to stay away from animal products during a period of six weeks that led up to Easter in 2019.

This case had been reported by the Russian state media. Following this several western media houses such as Fox News picked it up. They wrote that the woman had been abstaining from consuming meat but the advert lured her in. For those who are unaware, Lent is a period of time when most devout Christians give up eating meat, eggs, poultry, or dairy for the entire season. [1]

Read: Why In-N-Out Burger Prints Bible Verses On Their Wrappers And Cups

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Woman Sues McDonald’s For Consuming Meat By Being Beguiled By The Latter’s Advertisements

In her statement, the woman claimed, “When I saw an advertising banner, I could not help myself. I visited McDonald’s and bought a cheeseburger.” Fox News further reported that the woman was suing the fast food joint over breaking consumer protection laws. The lawsuit would be for $14, which is around 1000 rubles. In her lawsuit, she stated, “In the actions of McDonald’s, I see a violation of the consumer protection law. I ask the court to investigate, and if a violation has taken place, to oblige McDonald’s LLC to compensate me for moral damage in the amount of one thousand rubles.”

Incidentally, this wasn’t the only time in 2021 that McDonald’s had faced an ad-related lawsuit. Back in May, the fast-food chain found themselves dealing with a lawsuit from two divisions of the Allen Media Group over multiple allegations of racial discrimination. The complaint accused the company of refusing to provide advertisements on the network of Entertainment Studios or even The Weather Channel due to racial stereotyping.

Keep Reading: A McDonald’s Restaurant in the UK Banned All Under-18s From Entering After 5 pm

Sources

  1. Woman sues McDonald’s after complaining that a cheeseburger advert was so irresistible it caused her to break her fast during Lent.” Business Insider. Zahra Tayeb. August 7, 2021.
  2. “Woman Sued McDonald’s Because She Believes Their Advertisements Made Her Eat Cheeseburgers.” Tip Hero