Taco Bell - Thank You For Suing Us
Written by: Suchi Mohapatra.
This is how Taco Bell decided to respond to the fast and furious allegations that haven been flying all around the fast food chain for the past couple of weeks.
Taco Bell is faced with a highly publicized lawsuit accusing the chain of falsely selling their products as beef, while its “beef” tacos do not contain the reported 88% beef, but rather contain less than 35%. According to the Alabama lawsuit, the taco “beef” is made up of other ingredients in much higher quantities such as modified corn starch, wheat oats, soy and anti-dusting agent. Not exactly what one would call a very appetizing list of ingredients.
The fast food company took a huge hit with this lawsuit, but has now decided to bounce back with this ad. They stand behind their product and are refuting the claims made by the lawsuit, calling them groundless and completely false. The only unknown ingredients that they use apart from their 88% of beef is a special ingredient. And of course some beef flavoring.
What do I think about this ad? It becomes a little difficult to judge, mostly due to the timing of this ad. It is quite clear that this ad is supposed to be informational and not promotional. The layout and clean copy style supports that. The color scheme is basic, in line with brand standards. Having said that, it could have been more visual and less textual. Based on the current interest, however, this ad will most likely prompt viewers to read the entire copy, but it does not win any awards for ‘creativity’.
The copy itself is not all that great. Intended to be sarcastic, it comes off as trying too hard. It sounds unoriginal and does not really deliver the expected punch so to speak. The signature of Taco Bell’s CEO and making it look like a letter in the end is a nice touch though.
Not all that beefy, considering it’s less than 88% actual beef, I would say. How would you rate this ad?
Suchi may be contacted at suchismita_mohapatra@emerson.edu