In its first-ever global marketing campaign, Taco Bell will be giving out free tacos on the evening of May 4, when the moon is in its waning crescent phase – and ostensibly, looks like a taco. If you live in the U.S., you can get a free Crunchy Taco from 8-11:59 p.m. in-store ,or all day via the app and online orders.
The company told Business Insider, “Taco Bell does not claim to own copyrights to a lunar phase of the moon, but stands behind the fact this really does look like a Taco Bell taco.”
A Global Campaign
With participating stores in over 20 global markets including Guatemala, the U.K., Australia, India, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Puerto Rico, this is the company’s largest taco giveaway to date. Taylor Montgomery, Taco Bell’s head of international marketing, explained the driving concept behind the campaign:
“How do we make tacos famous around the world? The first step is, we have to get people to see tacos everywhere. So we decided to turn the moon into a billboard for Taco Bell.”
The campaign will also include nine 15-second ad spots. “Taco Moon” kicks off the long-term “I See a Taco” campaign, which Montgomery says will unfold over the next 2-3 years. The “I See a Taco” campaign is all about getting people to see tacos – everywhere. Montgomery didn’t disclose many additional details, but did add that bridges around the world, the London Eye, and Dumbledore’s glasses all have a similar shape. Montgomery says:
“It’s big ideas and getting things that [are] really, really disruptive in culture first, and then thinking, how do we make sure that we can execute this across digital channels, because that’s where our consumers are.”