Taco Bell Corp. is making sure its waffle tacos and 12 other new menu items are getting noticed, giving its breakfast rollout the “largest advertising campaign to date” and keeping up a social media skirmish with the granddaddy of all fast-food chains.
Irvine-based Taco Bell didn’t disclose its marketing budget, but according to New York-based Kantar Media, it spent $280.3 million on U.S. measured media in the first nine months of last year.
The ad campaign kicked off on March 27 with humorous TV ads created by Deutsch L.A. that dig into McDonald’s Corp. They feature men named Ronald McDonald professing their love for “Taco Bell’s new breakfast.”
Jack in the Box Inc. in San Diego ran a similar TV spot in 2002 in which the company’s mascot, Jack, offers a burger to a man named “Ronald MacDonald” who declares it “delicious.”
McDonald’s struck back a day after Taco Bell’s campaign started, offering free McCafe coffee during its breakfast hours through this Sunday—the first time it had offered such deal, according to company officials. It also posted a photo on its Facebook page of its mascot petting a Chihuahua with the caption, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”
Taco Bell responded with an Instagram video showing someone dressed in candy-striped socks—often associated with McDonald’s mascot—changing into taco-themed socks.
Taco Bell’s in-store marketing materials and packaging were created by FCB’s Los Angeles and Orange County offices. Social media and public relations support is being handled by DigitasLBi’s office in San Francisco and the Los Angeles office of Taylor Global Inc.
The two agencies had their hands full months before the actual launch—Taco Bell sent 1,000 “breakfast phones” to its most loyal fans and friends to wake them up for breakfast. The prepaid phones received text messages with instructions their owners could follow to compete for prizes, such as hash brown pajamas and A.M. Crunchwrap-themed bed sheets that feature bacon-print pillows.
Good to Know
Irvine-based Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices launched its first national advertising campaign to “continue building brand awareness and underscoring the network’s expertise.”
The campaign was developed by BBDO Minneapolis, the real estate brokerage network’s advertising agency of record. It showcases the network as a brand that’s “Good to know” when buying or selling a home. The agency created 15- and 30-second TV spots that feature a family preparing to move and peppering their agent with questions, which she answers with confidence and reassurance.
The spots will run through the fall on national TV networks TNT, HGTV, Science Channel, BBC America, Fox News, Fox Business News, CNN, MSNBC, History Channel, USA, and Bloomberg.
The campaign also includes print and digital advertising in the Business Journal, the Wall Street Journal and trade publications.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices is operated by HSF Affiliates LLC in Irvine, which is owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
The network, which branded its first affiliates in September, now has more than 27,000 agents and 700 offices in 34 states.
“Momentum has been building nicely at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, and now we’re taking our messages to the airwaves and doorsteps of America,” Kerry Donovan, HSF Affiliates’ vice president for marketing, said in a news release. “By choosing Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, consumers align with a brand inspired by the world-renowned Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and agents who truly stand out in the local marketplace. All our advertising makes it crystal clear that Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices is a game-changer for homebuyers and sellers.”
Special Support
FleishmanHillard, an Irvine-based public relations agency, has been selected as communications agency of record for the 2015 Special Olympics World Games.
The agency and its sister outpost in Los Angeles will “work for the next 18 months to highlight the mission and vision” of the games. Its role includes helping with “volunteer recruitment efforts, amplifying partner activities, raising awareness and excitement for the event and helping to shine a global spotlight on Special Olympics athletes from around the world before, during and following the Games,” according to the agency.
The games are scheduled to open July 25, 2015 in Los Angeles and to welcome more than 7,000 athletes.
The contract value has not been disclosed.
FleishmanHillard is a division of Publicis Omnicom Group since 1997.
