Crunch Time! Taco Bell Goes Big for National Taco Day

It's National Taco Day, the most important twenty-four hours of the year! Naturally, Taco Bell plans to take a humongous bite, both at home and abroad, with help from Deutsch LA.

In the U.S., the fast-feeder ventures onto community platform Discord—which is, after all, exactly like a sandwich—with a dedicated hub, trivia contests and the requisite taco giveaways. By day's end, a lucky someone gets crowned "Taco Champion." Who could ask for more?

For global consumption, America included, the chain created "Taco IRL," inviting fans to message emojis to a special number and receive free tacos.

Hey, everyone's a champ on Taco Day!

There's additional outreach across social platforms, plus influencer posts and out-of-home elements, too. All of which you'd expect from a brand that's proven itself adept at fun, innovative campaigns. Just ask chief impact officer Nas X, and the folks who "invested" in taco NFTs or took a nostalgic flight with the Taco Bell Fry Force.

"Our team is plugged in daily to not only how fans are interacting with the brand online on platforms like Reddit, Discord, TikTok, etc., but also to how they're behaving on the internet at large," says Deutsch strategist Karina Azevedo. " 'Taco IRL' was born out of this insight that emojis have evolved into a language of their own. This campaign is our way of redefining the taco emoji in our global markets as a trigger for a Taco Bell craving."

Same-store sales rose 10 percent in the last quarter. But marketing has mainly focused on the U.S. Now, the Yum! Brands unit looks to get revenue cooking overseas.

CREDITS

Client's Company Name 
Taco Bell

Assignment: 
National Taco Day 

Social Campaign: 
Online Video, Text and social campaign 

Air Date: 
Pre-National Taco Day – 10/1 – 10/3
National Taco Day – 10/4

Client Credits: 
Marketing, Social Media : Lauren Murphy 
Associate Manager, Social Media: Melly Ramirez
Associate Manager, Social Media: Madia Aymerich 
Sr. Director, Advertising: Ashley Prollamante
Manager, Advertising: Amanda Barbosa
Associate Manager, Advertising: Eddy Perezic

Deutsch Credits and Titles:
Creative Credits: 
Executive Creative Director: Bea Danger
Associate Creative Director: Mike McGuire
Associate Creative Director: Shannon Smith
Art Director: Heather Patterson
Copywriter: Bo Bellinger

Account Management Credits: 
Group Account Director: Sam Speed 
Account Executive: Racine Drageset
Account Coordinator: Jason Rosove 

Strategy Credits: 
Group Strategy Director: Kelsey Karson 
Associate Social Strategy Director: Nef Cooper
Jr. Strategist: Jenny Lee
Community Manager: Cat Killedjian 

Business Affairs/Traffic:
Executive Business Affairs Manager: Ken Rongey

IG Stickers
Taco Bell Design

CREDITS

Client's Company Name 
Taco Bell

Assignment: 
National Taco Day (International) 

Name/Length of Spots: 
Online Video, Text and social campaign 

Air Date: 
Awareness – 9/27
Redemption/National Taco Day – 10/4

Client Credits: 
Head of Intl. Marketing: Taylor Montgomery 
Senior Marketing Manager, International Marketing Bill Krieger
Manager, International Marketing Jessica Kleinert 

Deutsch Credits and Titles:
Creative Credits: 
Executive Creative Director: Guto Araki 
Creative Director: Daniel Chen
Creative Director: Stephanie Kohnen
Associate Creative Director: Maria Snell
Associate Creative Director: Christian Silva
Copywriter: Amy Char
Design Director: Jean-Lou Renoux
Senior Designer: Jeremy Gozzip

Production Credits:
Executive Producer: Paul Roy
Producer: Mel Case
Senior Creative Technologist Sean Harrington
Executive Producer, Digital Alexandra Psalti 
Senior Producer, Digital Lee Khleang 
Director of Assets and Content John Cluckie
Senior Art Producer Shelly Amin 

Account Management Credits: 
Group Account Director: Matt Matzen 
Managing Director, DLA UK: Allan Cobb 
Account Director: Kelly Childers
Account Executive: Rewdjety Redick
Assistant Account Executive: Chuckie Presto 

Strategy Credits: 
Group Strategy Director: Kelsey Karson 
Strategist: Karina Azevedo

Business Affairs/Traffic:
Executive Business Affairs Manager: Ken Rongey
Senior Business Affairs Manager: Kevin Nickels

GIF Animation & Online Video
Production Company: Anchor Point
Producer: Mike Holm
Director: Brikk
Creative Director: Björn Johansson
Illustration: Björn Johansson, Sonya Filimonova
2D Animation: Redoad Syed, Björn Johansson, Sonya Filimonova, Emil Börner
3D animation: Kristian Andersson, Björn Johansson 
Comp: Björn Johansson

IG Stickers
Taco Bell Design
Senior Brand Solutions Director: Ingrid Sandahl
Director, Project Manager: Lisa Schnitzer
Account Manager: Courtney Pettaway