Taco Bell’s Nacho Fries are back, this time with a buddy action-thriller trailer

Taco Bell’s latest campaign for Nacho Fries is a spoof on a buddy action flick set in Miami. “If Taco Bell won’t keep Nacho Fries on the menu, we will,” one guy says near the beginning of the fast feeder’s latest ad that seems more like a movie trailer—all to hype the expected return of a hit product. Nacho Fries, for the uninitiated, were a massive hit when they were introduced by Taco Bell in January 2018. It has sold them in four limited-time runs until now, each with a movie-trailer-style campaign. Now, for their fifth run, Nacho Fries are getting the buddy action-thriller treatment. A pair of friends collaborate on a scheme to offer Nacho Fries on their own after they leave Taco Bell’s menu. Chaos, seemingly pulled from an updated episode of “Miami Vice,” ensues, featuring a party on a yacht, a villain, a car chase and so on. The campaign breaks as the Super Bowl is about to be played in Miami and “Bad Boys For Life” is the top movie in the country. “We lean into those culturally relevant tropes,” says Tracee Larocca, Taco Bell's senior VP of advertising and brand engagement. Still, there are no plans for the spot to run during the game or during the upcoming Academy Awards broadcast. Despite being a hit—at one point in 2019, one of out every four Taco Bell orders included the fries—there are still no plans to make them a permanent item. Much like the annual return of McDonald’s McRib, for example, Taco Bell keeping Nacho Fries in limited rotation could lead consumers to anticipate them and head in when they return. While the Nacho Fries haven’t changed, another fries menu item is being introduced just as the side item returns: the also-limited-time Buffalo Chicken Nacho Fries. Celebrities helped generate buzz about the product during its first four runs. In 2018, Josh Duhamel starred in the first and second “Web of Fries” campaigns. James Marsden took over in a space odyssey in January 2019, followed by Darren Criss in a bit of a spoof of music biopics in June. This time, however, the actors in the trailer spoof campaign aren’t big-name stars. The latest campaign is set to run in theaters playing “Bad Boys For Life” and other movies such as “The Turning,” along with TV, social, radio and other plans. Taco Bell worked with Deutsch LA on the spot, which was directed by Jeremy Saulnier. Along with the 60-second cut, there are 30-second and 15-second versions.

Taco Bell’s Nacho Fries are back, this time with a buddy action-thriller trailer

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