Taco Bell's UK 'Christmas ad' is a product giveaway created by a YouTuber
The brand ran the ad once and redirected its media spend to a free taco offer
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In time for the holidays, Taco Bell, which entered the U.K. just a few years ago, has made its first TV ad for the market. But most viewers aren't going to see it on TV. They might, however, get a free taco instead.
Working with agency The Or (part of the Mother agency group) the brand partnered with YouTuber An0nymooose, a viral creator with 1.12 million subscribers, who created the 30 second video featuring an animated version of Santa as a YouTube restaurant reviewer who gets freaked out by a scary swan while trying a taco.
The commercial aired just once on TV, late-ish on Sunday night (11.25PM) on TV channel ITV2. Although it also ran on social media, the idea is that the brand saved so much with its low cost approach that it was able to "redirect" the spend to run a free taco giveaway. That is happening today (Dec. 13) with anyone in the U.K. able to claim a free Crunchy Taco at any of the brand's 117 U.K. restaurants while stocks last.
“We’ve really thrown out the rule book on this one," commented Metz ti Bryan, co-founder and production partner at The Or, in a statement. "Making a Christmas ad with an animator that no-one has ever seen IRL isn’t something people expect to see at this time of year. But Taco Bell and its fans are spontaneous and don’t take themselves too seriously. It’s something we’ve aimed to echo throughout this creative.”
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