Monday, March 31, 2014

Taco Bell's Clever Campaign

If I wasn't in public relations, I have a strong fascination in advertising and yesterday I saw a commercial that blew me away.

Recently Taco Bell has introduced a new breakfast menu to their chain's selections. In order to promote their new options, they released an ad campaign with real people's reactions after trying the breakfast choices. What makes this campaign so clever is that all of the people they used in the commercial are named Ronald McDonald.


It's no secret that Ronald McDonald is the mascot's name of fast food chain leader, McDonald's. It's also no secret that McDonald's has dominated the fast food breakfast field for decades. Taco Bell's new campaign is bold and direct statement to McDonald's without ever actually mentioning their competitor.

What as PR professionals can we learn from Taco Bell's brilliant commercial?
  • Be creative. There's more than one way to communicate a message. The message Taco Bell is conveying is clear: that their breakfast options are just as good, if not better, than McDonald's trusted breakfast options. Using this tactic to present that message is a creative and engaging way to grab the audience's attention.
  • Play with words. Language is a PR pro's bread and butter. We should be able to play to our strengths and have a bit more fun with how we frame our message. While one of the major differences between our messages and advertising messages is that we have to remain factual, that doesn't mean that we can't be entertaining as well.
  • Think outside the box. No, this tip is not an intentional pun relating to Taco Bell's old slogan "Think outside the bun." However, innovative thinking has been a strength of Taco Bell's for years now. Words may be our strong suit, but PR pros should embrace other methods of relaying a message as well. Researching your audience and tailoring the way you choose to deliver a message to that audience will do wonders in an advertising or PR campaign.
What was your reaction to the Taco Bell commercial? We would love to hear your thoughts so comment below!

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