It’s the golden rule – if there’s bad press out there about your business, address it immediately. Whether it’s a comment on your Facebook page, a bad review online or even a snarky comment on one of your videos, your company needs to respond swiftly before it takes on a life of its own.

McDonald’s finally joined the legions of business owners who address online criticism by launching a new marketing campaign that’s working to dispel some of the common myths about their food. Taking aim at critics who claim that their burgers are not made with real meat, they enlisted Grant Imahara, of TV’s Mythbusters, to confirm their burgers are 100% beef.

Going a step further, they invited a news crew into their kitchen for the first time ever, and asked customers to submit questions that were answered on the McDonald’s website and via Twitter. You can imagine that the questions asked were along the lines of widely circulated online images and videos that show its burgers staying intact after several weeks or even years. (McDonald’s states that the food must be dehydrated, because food needs moisture to grow mold.)

Did the chain have a change of heart and suddenly decide to put all this information out there? No, probably not. I’m pretty sure it has more to do with the fact that sales slid 1.5 percent last quarter, and  increased competition from “healthy” food chains like Chipotle.  Either way, it’s nice to see a big chain follow some of the common sense marketing advice that small business owners have been practicing for years.