Taco Bell and Deutsch made some fun regional media buys during the Super Bowl, recruiting local advertisers in five markets to create normal-looking ads for their own businesses—that suddenly became a pitch for the Quesalupa, which Taco Bell introduced with its own national ad on the game.
The advertisers were Fort Worth lawyer Bryan Wilson, Minneapolis comedian Fancy Ray, Cleveland furniture store owner Marc Brown, Virginia Beach car dealership mascot Mack Mack, and Mr. Appliance of Eugene, Oregon.
Check out the spots here:
The national spot was all about how the Quesalupa is going to be huge. The local spots, then, were about how everyone really is talking about it—even the familiar faces from your local ads. (Wilson, aka the "Texas Law Hawk," also appeared in the national spot.)
"It's these people who run their own little fun TV ads or radio ads, and they're sort of so bad they're good," Taco Bell chief marketing officer Marisa Thalberg told Mashable."Everyone knows them—they're part of your local market culture and lore."
Deutsch executive creative director Brett Craig added: "This thing's so big it's even infiltrating a local market spot in Oregon and taking over other people's commercials."