Taco Bell escalates breakfast war vs. McDonald's
This is Taco Bell's second breakfast ad poking fun at McDonald's. This one uses the tune 'Old MacDonald Had a Farm' to make McDonald's breakfast appear boring.
McDonald's is starting to look like Taco Bell's private punching bag.
Monday afternoon, the feisty Mexican fast-food chain, eager to attract attention -- and customers -- for its new breakfast platform, will release yet another commercial that makes McDonald's the butt of its running breakfast joke.
This time, however, the joke isn't specifically on Ronald McDonald. This go-round, it's 'Old MacDonald' -- as in the song, Old MacDonald Had a Farm. A semi-dorky guy -- whose house is filled with 1980s memorabilia -- takes his wrapped, Egg McMuffin on the bus and sings (well, laments) that he's been eating Egg McMuffins since 1984. So he gets with the times -- and tries Taco Bell's new Waffle Taco. Presto: he junks his flip phone and gets a smart phone.
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Suddenly, the dude dumps his 1980s fixation, and is modern day hip. 'When I saw Taco Bell made a Waffle Taco, I figured I would get with the times,' he sings, before ripping down his poster of the 80s band Loverboy. This new ad follows Taco Bell's wildly successful commercial featuring a bunch of guys named Ronald McDonald, who all say they prefer Taco Bell's new breakfast.
While the Taco Bell ads seem like fun and games, they are very pointed attempts to steal attention -- and market share -- from the incredible lock that McDonald's has on the $50 billion fast-food breakfast business. For Taco Bell, it's all about garnering attention and social media buzz. For McDonald's, it's a tricky marketing decision about whether to ignore or respond to Taco Bell's high-profile sucker punches. Last week, in a rare move, McDonald's announced it was offering free, small coffees during breakfast hours at participating domestic McDonald's locations.
McDonald's did not immediately comment on Taco Bell's latest commercial. But Taco Bell executives say they're just getting started.
'We have to do things to grab attention,' says Chris Brandt, chief marketing officer at Taco Bell. 'We're trying to position ourselves as the next generation of breakfast.'
The ad, created by the agency Deutsch LA., will debut Monday afternoon on Taco Bell's website and on Tuesday on national TV. The agency's previous Ronald McDonald spot ranked as one of the most popular ads on YouTube last week.
Will the Ronald McDonald dudes return any time soon?
VIDEO: See Taco Bell's 'Old MacDonald' ad
'We'll probably move away from the current line of sight,' says Brandt. 'But never say never. We're considering everything.'
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