Basketball megastar LeBron James fronted a new strand of Taco Bell’s marketing initiative aimed at freeing ‘Taco Tuesday’ for everyone in a May campaign by Deutsch LA which aims to rallying taco lovers and hoops fans to back the brand’s effort to cancel current trademark regulations around the phrase ‘Taco Tuesday’..
Nearly one week in, Taco Bell’s journey to liberate the phrase ‘Taco Tuesday’ from its trademarked status continues so that small businesses, independent restaurants, mom-and-pop taco joints, food trucks and taco lovers alike can freely use the common term for the benefit of all. Today, global icon and long-time ‘Taco Tuesday’ enthusiast,
LA Laker and Yum Brands’ athlete ambassador James lends his personal support for Taco Bell’s current campaign to cancel the existing ‘Taco Tuesday’ registered trademark which has prevented companies – large and small – from using the phrase since it was registered in 1989. Competitor Taco John’s trademarked and registered the popular phrase in 49 states, while a small outfit called Gregory’s owns it in New Jersey.
Taco Bell filed legal petitions with the USPTO Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to remove the federal trademark registrations on 16 May, 2023. Taco Bell is not seeking damages, but is lobbying for ‘common sense usage for the term for all’.
The digital-first campaign was anchored by a spearhead spot called ‘Taco Bleep’ starring James which began airing from 22 May and which highlights “the absurdity of ‘Taco Tuesday’ being trademarked” and encourages the wider taco community to “join together in support of the liberation movement”.
The 30-second ad, which ran on the brand’s channels and the player’s personal platforms, comically censors James every time he tries to say the trademarked phrase.
In what might be as much a list building mechanic as a genuine trademark lobbying initiative, basketball fans, viewers, taco lovers and Taco Bell consumers are all encouraged to support the fast food giant’s initiative by signing the ‘Freeing Taco Tuesday’ petition at a bespoke website and are encouraged to find out more information about the initiative and other ways to support the project by clicking here and following Taco Bell’s social channels which also include supporting content.
Plus, to further raise awareness of the campaign, the quick service chain invited consumers to participate in a Reddit ‘Ask Me Anything’ discussion on the topic on 22 May.
“‘Taco Tuesday’ is a tradition that everyone should be able to celebrate. All restaurants, all families, all businesses – everybody,” said James. “‘Taco Tuesdays’ create opportunities that bring people together in so many ways, and it’s a celebration that nobody should own.”
“Our passion for liberating ‘Taco Tuesday’ is fuelled by the community of taco enthusiasts that turned two simple words into a cultural phenomenon,” added Taco Bell Chief Marketing Officer Taylor Montgomery. “To see the support and excitement in response to our efforts to free ‘Taco Tuesday’ for everyone is not something we take lightly. And, much like Taco Tuesday itself, it’s better when shared.”
“Tacos make Tuesday a whole lot better and it’s meant to be a shared experience for everyone who wants to be a part of it,” commented Deutsch LA Co-Chief Creative Officer Matt Ian. “We wanted to make that point in a big way by partnering with Taco Tuesday’s biggest fan: LeBron.”
The initiative was conceived by a team at client Taco Bell which included Brand Executive Sean Tresvant, Chief Marketing Officer Taylor Montgomery and Amy Durini, Chief Creative Officer Evert Lee, Advertising Executives Ashley Prollamante, Amanda Barbosa and Chelle Toulouse, Social Manager Nicole Weltman, Social Assistants Christina Massari and Chloe Landrum, Content Director Milo Simpson, Community Manager Tim Bergevin, Marketing Manager Abby Barnes, Brand Manager Kortnie Richardson, Communications Manager Matt Prince, Project Managers Lisa Schnitzer ands Cristina Kawecki, Creative Directors Brandon Bale and Julia Cadar, Art Director Chase Wood, Designer John Viet-Triet Nguyen, Management Supervisor Samantha Carlino, Account Manager Chelsea Lancaster and Account Supervisor Scott Andreen.
The group at creative agency Deutsch LA which worked on the campaign included Chief Creative Officer Matt Ian, Creative Directors Felipe Machado and Lincoln Lopes, Art Director Heather Patterson, Copywriter Bo Belanger, Creative Services Director Lupe Escobar, Account Directors Matt Matzen, Britt Luhrsen and Natalie Brock, Account Handler Stef Rust, Account Executives Leyla Yalman and Sarah Sabin, Head Of Production Diego De La Maza, Executive Producer Paul Roy, Producer Harry Joseph, Strategy Directors Gabriel Caramelo, Sara Singh, Lauren Murphy and Elizabeth Weinstein, Strategists Nikki Cuerdo and Hannah Avery, Digital Producers Lindsey Najdovski, Lee Khleang and Chanel Raquel, Producer Nick Costa, Director Of Business Affairs Gabriela Farias, plus Business Affairs Manager Biba Millstein, while traffic was handed by Carie Bonillo, Courtney Tylka and Ana Barraza.
Production was run through Superprime Films with Director Rodrigo Valdes, Managing Directors Rebecca Skinner and Michelle Ross, Head Of Production Matt Sanders, Producer Betsy Blakemore, plus Director Of Photography Joost Vangelder and Production Designer Pele Kudren.
Further production was handled by 2D Creative Executive Producer Shauna Candella, Producer Kieran Collings and Photographer Laura Murray, with post-production and VFX by a team at Nomad that included Editor Conor O’Neill, Edit Assistant Dani Weltman, Executive Producers Justin Ladd and David Ziek, plus Flame Artists Josh Kirschenbaum and Amber Andrada.
Comment
Whether Taco Bell’s strategy is genuinely legally focused, or more about generating positive publicity remains to be seen.
Taco Bell’s legal argument seems to focus on the proposition that ‘Taco Tuesday’ is a commonly used phrase that no single entity should own and is comparable to other widely used phrases such as ‘brunch’ or ‘what’s up?’
But, in marketing terms, this is a fresh angle on the avalanche of late Spring/Early Summer hoops-linked US advertising campaigns leveraging the Playoffs and Finals which form the climax of the 2022/23 NBA season.
The use of James, who’s LA Lakers team were knocked out in the Western Division Conference Finals (the NBA’s semi-final phase), as an endorser has an element of authenticity as he is known to be a taco fan as back in 2019 he shared a series of Instagram videos of his own family’s taco nights on Instagram.
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