Of course, the folks behind the Chihuahua would love to change that equation—and it seems like they’ve had some success with the “Cantina Bell” rebranding project and its celebrity chef spokesperson, Lorena Garcia. The goal of this exercise was clearly to compete with Chipotle Mexican Grill, which is something of a “cult favorite” despite being a big-money national chain once owned by McDonald’s.

Well, it worked–According to the YouGov Brand Index, Taco Bell’s quality perception among consumers rose throughout the summer after it debuted the Cantina brand—and its scores are now closer to those of its nemesis. The success of the Cantina project even inspired venture capitalist David Einhorn to warn investors about buying shares of Chipotle—and the company’s stock value quickly dropped in response.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Photo: Getty Images/Amana images

According to a recent study of New York City diners, only one-sixth of fast food customers pay attention to the calorie counts that are now listed on menus.

Those who do take notice of the calorie counts eat fewer calories, however, which is encouraging. The key, according to TIME, is putting the information in the same place in the same font as the rest of the menu details. “Most restaurants only matched calorie stat fonts and sizes to menu items some time after the ruling was implemented,” the story says.

With obesity a continued health concern in this country, communicating information about what and how we should be eating has reached the legislative level. A new law will go into effect that will be adding calorie counts to an additional 200,000 fast food restaurants around the country. And we have a new nutrition guide that’s meant to clarify what it means to eat healthfully. Fast food brands will now have to make certain concessions about how good their food is for their customers.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.