#ad week

Out of the vast range of products that Taco Bell promotes, the brand’s Nacho Fries have carved out a unique space … in the form of fake movie trailers. So far, three epic longer-form ads have spoofed the format: a thriller (“Web of Fries”) starring Josh Duhamel, a dystopian sequel and, more recently, a send-up of Interstellar featuring James Marsden.

Taco Bell has brought back the limited-edition product and the announcement is accompanied by another trailer, created by agency partner Deutsch, set in the music business.

“Chasing Gold” is the aspirational rise-and-fall story of a singer (Golden Globe winner Darren Criss) who gets his big break after being discovered by an agent (played by comedian Chris Diamantopoulos) who hears him singing about his deep love of Nacho Fries in an alley.

Criss’ star burns white hot, only to have it come crashing down when it’s discovered that he can’t sing about anything other than Nacho Fries. The analogy is somewhat obvious: fame, like Taco Bell’s Nacho Fries, doesn’t last forever.

It is a none-too-subtle nod to the recent crop of films and biopics like A Star Is Born, Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman, and follows a predictable “price-of-fame” template.

As the trio of the brand’s previous ads for the limited-time product, the trailer is highly entertaining and very well-produced. The song itself is catchy, the overall idea makes its points without taking itself too seriously and latches on nicely to the zeitgeist in music.

According to Taco Bell’s chief global brand officer Marisa Thalberg, the concept has proven to be successful.

“We love this idea because it seems to have an enormous amount of potential and legs,” she said. “It’s nice to be able to stick to a certain type of genre and build that anticipation for consumers along with the product itself.”

Indeed, the formula appears to work well, as evidenced by the success of the previous trailers. While they have a big-budget feel and could be perceived as a gimmick of sorts, the work from the brand and Deutsch has remained smart, playful and, most importantly, accessible. Everyone is in on the joke, and it shows that the brand has a level of warmth and sense of self-awareness.

“[Our marketing] is a reflection of a level of confidence we’ve built,” said Thalberg. “It’s evolved, but we have to earn it [with consumers]. It’s also matched with a lot of humility about how challenging this business can be, and the responsibility of how we delight our fans continuously. We show up with a voice that makes sense for the brand, and that gives us the confidence to do some bold things.”

Yet, like most creative concepts, there could conceivably be a shelf life for the movie trailer parody genre. Thalberg feels good about the campaign’s durability but is also realistic (and confident) about the next great ideas should it come to that.

“We never feel locked into a concept,” she said. “We have a wide range of storytelling across our different initiatives, and we’re constantly pushing ourselves for what’s next. But if it ever feels like we’re trying too hard or it’s contrived, we’ll move on.”

A recap of Impermanent Art’s 2017 mural campaign for the film “IT”, which featured six original artworks in five cities, painted by renowned street artists. 

Producer: Impermanent Art Client: Warner Bros

1. BK Foxx in Manhattan. 

2. Jules Muck in Hollywood. 

3. Eddie Colla in San Francisco. 

4. Shawn Michael Warren in Chicago. 

5. Drew Merritt in Hollywood. 

6. Anthony Hernandez in Miami. 

I found this short article very interesting... helps illustrate in a different way, why eliminating net neutrality is bad.Also an interesting illustration as to how women are specifically effected.