I am having a great time watching the breakfast advertising wars between McDonalds and Taco Bell right now. If you have not seen the Taco Bell breakfast commercial yet watch it here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKAcOawiaNk. The ad features people named Ronald McDonald, though not the McDonald’s restaurant Ronald McDonald talking about how they love Taco Bell breakfast.
What I love about this commercial is that McDonald’s has been positioned for years as America’s source for breakfast on the go. Taco Bell played into this by humorously swiping at the breakfast champion without ever actually mentioning McDonald’s.
McDonald’s brand is omnipresent in the breakfast world. Conversely, if I had to guess, I would say approximately zero (sober) people think of breakfast when they think of Taco Bell (yes, I’m excluding stoners and the hung over – it’s no longer breakfast if its afternoon). This was Taco Bell’s way of introducing the brand as a tasty breakfast alternative, so tasty in fact, that even Ronald McDonald(s) loves it.
Taco Bell seems to have struck a blow with this ad campaign as McDonald’s seems to have taken notice. After the ad began airing McDonald’s posted this photo on their Facebook page http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/533965636da8115c4215d9a2-960/mcdonald’s%20taco%20bell.jpg. Here McDonald’s responds in kind by referencing Taco Bell’s most infamous mascot the Chihuahua mascot in a rather humorous yet condescending manner.
Not to be outdone, Taco Bell responded on Instagram http://instagram.com/p/mGq1DzQhGm/ with a video of someone whistling Old McDonald Had a Farm while changing out of McDonald’s socks and into Taco Bell socks then stating “much better.”
Hopefully this advertising and social media feud continues to heat up. Brands seem to be at their best when competition is fierce.
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