The success of Taco Bell's Doritos-shelled creation inspires a slew of potential spinoffs---and stomach aches
Cross-branding is marketing's version of the double-team---think Ford and Eddie Bauer, or Intel any just about any PC. By joining forces, each company gets to introduce its stuff to another's customers and share in that "halo of affection" to boot. With Taco Bell's wildly successful Doritos Locos Tacos, that halo is actually clouds of Day-Glo orange cheese dust falling off their shells, which are made of Doritos.
Launched last March, Taco Bell has sold more than 200 million Locos Tacos, making it the most successful product launch in the company's 50-year history. To say Locos Tacos blew up is an understatement. Locos Tacos are "fast food's nuclear weapon," says Gizmodo.
Success has a thousand fathers---and a million imitators. In this week's Ad Land, David T. Jones imagines what might be going on behind the scenes at Yum Brands, parent company of Taco Bell, as marketers cudgel their brains searching for a strike-it-rich spinoff.
Don't judge---there are no bad ideas, we're just spitballing here. See the whole enchilada after the jump.
David T. Jones is the creator of Ad Land and chief creative officer at Third Street, an "attention agency" that he co-founded in 2009 after a long career at FCB Chicago. Ad Land has been featured in AdWeek magazine, beaucoup blogs and the book, The Creative Process Illustrated. Follow David on Twitter.
