Taco Bell: The Company That Pranks Itself A comedy article
by Dan Seitz 919 11 03/11/2010 03:38 AM 7541 views
Corporations used to press charges against pranksters, but today's modern companies are hiring them. Nowhere is this more apparent than American fast food chain Taco Bell.
Could be a Taco Bell-sponsored prank.
Probably not a Taco Bell-sponsored prank.
In their never-ending quest to win over the hearts of American youth, Taco Bell has begun hiring the Web's most popular viral video stars to pull pranks on itself, then post their prank videos on YouTube in hopes they'll go viral and sell muchos tacos. For example!
1. Fast Food Folk Song
Comedy duo Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal bill themselves as "Internetainers," having created over 200 YouTube videos that have been viewed over 30 million times. In this very funny prank, they put in a massive order at a Taco Bell drive-through window ... in song.
What's amazing is that the Taco Bell drive-through worker gets the entire order right. The duo insist that part was unplanned, and they seem so earnest that you want to believe them, even when you know the whole thing was commissioned by the 'Bell. And speaking of commissioning...
2. Taco Bell Gets Frozen
Question: What do you get when you cross forty comedians and the grand opening of a Taco Bell in the middle of the suburbs?
Answer: One of the most confusing events the suburbanites have ever seen.
This particular stunt was pulled off by the pranksters at Improv Everywhere, who specialize in making the world just a little weirder and stranger by doing things like turning a Little League game into a major-league moment (complete with JumboTron).
One of their favorite pranks is the "freeze," where you pack a location with a ton of people and on a pre-arranged signal, they all stop moving. Unlike other IE "freeze" missions, this one was paid for by Taco Bell to promote their new frozen drink. As you can see, this marketing stunt got an icy reaction from those not in on the joke.
3. Eat Tacos, Lose Weight
Perhaps the strangest prank is what Taco Bell pulled on the dieters of Oklahoma City: offering them free tacos.
NOTE: This coupon may or may not actually work at your local Taco Bell.
In 2008, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett issued a challenge for his city to lose one million pounds through the "Mayor's Challenge," not only increasing his city's health and fitness, but also broadcasting to the world just how fat the residents of Oklahoma City are. While Mayor Cornett himself lost over 35 pounds, the rest of the city has only lost half a million pounds, according to the official Web site.
Part of the problem could be the official Menu of the Mayor's Challenge, which is -- you guessed it -- Taco Bell. Not only did the Mayor partner with Taco Bell, but the restaurant chain offered free tacos once the city had lost 100,000 pounds, which seems a bit like celebrating a marathon with a cheesecake.
Mayor Cornett, posing with food he didn't eat
To be fair, they were offering Taco Bell's Fresco Taco, which is substantially healthier than their usual tacos, but that's a bit like saying fried butter is healthier than plain butter; it's true as far as it goes, but where it goes is a heart attack.
So we've got to assume Taco Bell is just offering these dieters the tacos to mess with them. "Oh, you've lost weight? Have a taco! Don't you want the taco? The tasty ... yummy taco. Haven't had one of these in a while, have you?"
So don't fret, young prankster. Work hard enough at your craft, and maybe, just maybe, you will one day grow up to be a marketing executive at Taco Bell.
I can't believe I left the "booby" thread to read this crap. At least post something that has happened somewhat recently if you aren't going to be funny or original.
I'm going back to the booby thread in the hopes of seeing more booby pics for the comments.
My daughter "A", was recently trying to buy a bank owned foreclosure located near a Taco Bell that had just been robbed and the manager of 20 years was murdered during the robbery.
Long story short; she got the house 30 grand under asking price PLUS a free electrical upgrade (10 grand).
Taco Bell getting an order right under normal circumstances is near impossible to believe; getting a melodic order correct moves it into the "clearly fake" category.
With that first picture, finally the truth on how they hire such "great" people to work in fast food. such truth in Advertising is refreshing (fresco?)
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