Crowd Cow’s ‘$100 of Free Meat’
As a TINA.org reader put it, it’s only “free” if you first spend money.
Contrary to what one of its TV ads say, Panera does not, in fact, deliver "wherever."
In April, Panera announced it would be expanding its delivery service to up to 40 percent of its cafes with the aim of giving consumers more delivery food options.
“In many places across the country, all that’s available for delivery is pizza or Chinese food,” Panera’s founder and CEO, Ron Shaich, said in a release at the time.
But even if Panera reaches its lofty goal for delivery service expansion, millions of consumers may still have to settle for pizza or Chinese (though with the rise of food delivery apps there are actually several other options out there). And that’s because Panera only allows its drivers to venture out so far. It says it right there in the April release, fourth paragraph, first sentence (emphasis added):
The new digital and mobile ordering-based service, Panera Delivery, will provide lunch and dinner to offices, hospitals, campuses and homes, typically within an eight-minute drive of a Panera bakery-cafe.
But while the release may note this important limitation, a TV commercial for Panera Delivery that a TINA.org reader reports seeing “several times each day,” does not. Worse, the ad, below, claims that, “Wherever, whoever you are, we’ll deliver lunch or dinner right to you,” while fine print at the end discloses, “Participating bakery-cafes only.”
So unless the dictionary people changed the definition of “wherever” from “in or to whatever place” to “typically within an eight-minute drive of a Panera bakery-cafe,” you can file this one under Bad Ad.
TINA.org reached out to Panera for comment. Check back for updates.
Find more of our coverage on food delivery services here.
Our Ad Alerts are not just about false and deceptive marketing issues, but may also be about ads that, although not necessarily deceptive, should be viewed with caution. Ad Alerts can also be about single issues and may not include a comprehensive list of all marketing issues relating to the brand discussed.
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