Taco Bell's DISASTROUS Super Bowl ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN | Super Bowl XXXVI

Imagine an advertising campaign so bad that not only do you finish with the worst ad of the night in the USA Today Ad Meter, and not only do you finish with two of the bottom five ads, but you somehow got beat out by a flu medicine commercial. Well, at Super Bowl XXXVI, Taco Bell decided at the last minute that, to promote the new steak quesadilla, they were going to air two commercials at the Super Bowl. And the reaction to the campaign by America was abysmal. This is the story behind this disastrous advertising strategy at Super Bowl 36
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#nfl #superbowl #nflplayoffs #tacobell #superbowlads #superbowl56 #superbowlcommercials #football #sports #highlights #commercials

[@vdubproductions2646]

Medicine Company Meeting: Hey Our Ad didn't finish in last? Let's Celebrate by having that S class quesadilla that our ad beat out.

[@sandwichchan5000]

I won't survive to the game on Sunday if I keep taking a drink every time I click the card in the upper right corner

[@HurricanePatrick]

Or, "before I go any further, we need some context blah blah blah in question."

[@banjoplayingbison2275]

That Flu medicine ad literally seems like something you would see on a cable station during reruns late at night. How the heck was that a Super Bowl ad?

[@clydemiller4776]

When you’re in pharma and you have so much money that you literally don’t know what to do with it…

[@FordFalcon1962nBlue]

^ makes sense- pharma is the reason people live longer with all the tech and research so therefore ' capitalism ' i mean unless you guys want them to go to socialism

[@clydemiller4776]

@@FordFalcon1962nBlue It was a joke, bro

[@smartacus1367]

Looks like something from like a house buying show from like 2005

[@darreljones8645]

Maybe the "joke" in the second spot is the mention of the non-existent Steak Enthusiasts Magazine?

[@toddbiesel4288]

I think I might have seen an old copy of Steak Enthusiast magazine at the doctor's office. 😀

[@RebelTXWrestling]

I laughed when I saw the pharmaceutical ad. Can't believe they beat Taco Bell car advertisement ad in the Super Bowl. Not only that after watching this video I got an ad about medical center in this area. Stranger things have happened

[@banjoplayingbison2275]

I actually find it more surprising they aired a basic pharmaceutical ad at the Super Bowl But you know you hit the low bar when your commercial gets beaten by one of the most hated kinds of ads

[@timmetevelis8172]

That 1st ad is the third quarter was a mis-steak

[@donaldpaluga]

Bull! 🐂

[@DJVexillum]

Alright, I did chuckle at the first ad. But the faux-car ad? Woof.

[@nowionlywantatriumph]

Wait, the “S-Class” ad aired SECOND? After the “S-Class” mention in the other ad? At the very least, if you’re going to make a joke about that, air the explanation first and then air the callback SECOND.

[@JayTemple]

OMG For almost 20 years, I've been crediting the "little black dress" ad to Haggar.

[@allex_]

can you keep the advertising vids coming post-super bowl? they’re great 🙂

[@mst3kanita]

Yesss I love these vids.

[@mikewitzke8417]

Taco bell was just playing the long game because I am for sure getting a steak quesadilla tonight.

[@Bc232klm]

Nah these are fine. Maybe boring and not out of the ordinary. But they're fine commercials that make me want a quesadilla. Nice job Taco Bell.

[@MTCesquire]

There's nothing really wrong with these commercials outside of being just regular ass commercials you'd see anytime throughout the year. Bad move, TB.

[@aegisofhonor]

this is very ironic because Taco Bell is famous for their very good advertising over the last 20+ years, the idea they would make TWO absolute bombs of a Super Bowl ad of all things is very surprising to me, I don't even remember these ads to be honest.

[@CTubeMan]

8:08 You can have a worse commercial, and don’t call me Shirley.

[@rjflesher]

Excellent "Airplane" reference. I tip my hat to you, good sir.

[@stevenbauer4799]

shits gonna hit the fan now... striker, striker, strike her... 'you have to blow it up elaine'. 'you mean blow rock?'

[@stevendalbor9495]

But this video lasts 14 minutes. It's an entirely different kind of video, altogether.

[@dash_r_media]

@@stevendalbor9495 IT'S AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT KIND OF VIDEO

[@stevendalbor9495]

@@dash_r_media Well played, sir. Can't help but notice that 1) The thing that comes at you at the start of the second ad looks more like a Stealth Bomber than a car, and 2) The "S" Class was a US Navy submarine introduced during WWI. It was still in service at the start of WWII, with a performance you can imagine. The old video game Silent Service gave players their choice of submarines and said of the S Class, "This is the worst possible boat." Appropriate for the ad.

[@palaceofwisdom9448]

I've never gotten why ads, the thing I block every chance I get, suddenly become fascinating to people on exactly one occasion every year. It's not like they don't run them for a month after the game.

[@jaboba69]

It beats everything I saw last night.

[@PrinceRN]

0:22 EDS cat herding commercial!

[@nonamelegend_vapor]

Taco Bell is an appropriate subject for JG9 given that it gets (violently) spiked into the toilet after every time you eat it

[@rjflesher]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@luisreyes1963]

I believe it. 😅

[@teen_laqueefa]

🙄😲🤬🤯

[@peacefrog0521]

Am I the only one who wanted a Steak Quesadilla after watching this? I’d say the ad had its intended effect. (Maybe 20 years late 😀)

[@reidcraig3739]

I'm eating a Doritos Locos Taco while watching this

[@memyself3510]

Well..now I want Taco Bell 😂

[@TheJimmyStDenisShow]

Why can’t have a pick 6 America gets a free taco

[@banjoplayingbison2275]

Considering how the Pats defense was in that Super Bowl certainly we would have been getting free tacos

[@pinfeetshmo]

remember GIDGET the chihuahua mascot for Taco Bell commercials in the late nineties during the burger wars ..???

[@jlh4jc]

Taco Bell food gets a rating of 22.5! A 39.6 would be if they never opened their doors and just spike the ball every play.

[@allex_]

wow man, this is a top-tier comment 😂 excellent work

[@donaldpaluga]

Those ads dropped the chalupa

[@jlh4jc]

@David Lim In other words they said Think Outside The Bun so people wouldn't notice what's inside the shell, right?

[@higgy04]

'A Tasty Triumph.' - Steak Enthusiast Magazine What?!?!?

[@bradstanley116]

They should, at minimum, swapped the order of them

[@CommodoreFloopjack78]

Yeah, the ads are mindless, nonsensical crap, but so are 95% of all ads, regardless of medium. They're almost never genuinely creative or well thought-out.

[@Musicradio77Network]

The last one which was right behind the Taco Bell ads was the Roche flu medicine ad which was long before the pandemic hit which was a terrible mistake. No one has to promote a cold & flu medicine during the Super Bowl.

[@CommodoreFloopjack78]

@@Musicradio77Network Go figure.🤷‍♂️

[@KinkESizemore]

Disastrous is the new inconceivable, I’m not sure it means what you think it does… Disastrous would mean they went out of business. Taco Bell’s still around and profitable.

[@THEmuteKi]

I dunno, the first ad spoils the punchline way too fast I agree but the way that the second ad leans into the most confusing line in the first is some real dadaist stuff and at least the way you presented it got a laugh out of me.

[@patrickracer43]

The Taco Bell ads might not be good, but it could always be worse, could be Just For Feet

[@JStorm13]

It's an okay ad. Not Superbowl worthy but good enough as a basic commercial.

[@jefegot1]

You reaching lol we talking about Taco Bell commercials 😂😂😂

[@spectrevampire]

I forget: were these ads before or after they started doing the chihuahua ads?

[@JayTemple]

definitely after. I remember a spot where the chihuahua went through the drive-thru riding Godzilla in a cross-promotion with the 1998 "Godzilla". What I can't tell you is whether they had stopped by 2002.

[@senororlando2]

@12:15 angry JG9 is best JG9

[@Davepool-hs7vr]

Do a video on the Budweiser frogs

[@RetroJR3379]

If im not mistaken Taco Bell Chihuahua debut on SuperBowl 31

[@pinfeetshmo]

named GIDGET😊😊

[@chrishollister80]

Just because something is ranked higher doesn't mean it's better. It just means something ranked higher based upon the focus group, not a larger group of people.

[@okolo22000]

Also let’s not forget the remaining two were Britney Spears and Jared Fogle were also at the bottom of that list (wow Taco Bell had an extremely low bar and cleared it like limbo.)

[@banjoplayingbison2275]

Do you have a link for the Flu Medicine ad? I’m only curious because I want to hear the crazy amount of side effects they always list in those commercials (which just seems so odd to hear in a ad at the Super Bowl) 😂

[@poletooke4691]

If one of the ads ranked 52nd out of 56, then how can you say they both ranked at the "absolute bottom spots"? The absolute bottom spots would be 55 and 56

[@smartacus1367]

The second one got beat by the flu ad, nuff said

[@billygsell3625]

The Doja Cat Taco Bell commercial on the USA Today Ad Meter finished 53rd, getting beaten by a WeatherTech commercial and a Carvana commercial

[@maverickhunter8755]

Lots of cards to click but as always great video.

[@JayTemple]

It's funny to see this episode (because it was a sidebar suggestion) right after the one about Intel and their "mystery."

[@marcdaley]

Two spots above the flu medicine commercial was Jared from Subway. Sheesh.

[@Ragnar009]

But did the product sell?

[@gcooper146]

They weren't that good but I'm not sure how people thought they were among the worst

[@steveg4082]

A recipe for disaster perfect food pun considering it’s Taco Bell

[@donaldpaluga]

It could have been worse-White Castle

[@aaronholcomb237]

What is the timing of the pop up ads in these videos? Two ads popped up while the flu ad showed up when I watched this.

[@mike87kush]

The $20 million Pepsi add was a disaster. This was just a boring commercial.

[@marcomacias3960]

i wonder if you do a segment on PETA not getting to air their Super Bowl ads. theirs are weird and deemed too raunchy to air

[@brotako9556]

Note to self- do NOT watch this video high

[@ryanchmiel1368]

The cheese blend looked good though

[@Mr_Oggie]

If they wanted to go with the "S Class" idea and pitch it like its a car they should have done something like: Same start, guys show up at the door, but its a woman that opened the door She says to the guys "Jimmy is in the garage (brief pause) with his new (long pause, droll tone) S Class" Screen wipe to show guys coming in to the garage One of the guys says "Wow! Look at the curves!" Another guy says "Its beautiful!" Then pause on the guys at the door for a second or two as they stare in amazement One finally says "It looks so bold (longish pause) and soooooo beefy" Then pan out to show they are talking about the quesadilla Then Jimmy says to the guys "its the new S Class steak quesadilla from Taco Bell"

[@Rojo0051]

I wish they’d bring back baha chalupas and mexican pizza

[@patrickracer43]

I think if you flip the ads, the joke is better

[@donniekuzma9517]

Are we just gonna over look that this guy called a quesadilla a sandwich??

[@vdubproductions2646]

BTW the best ad I saw from that Super Bowl IMO is none other than the Bud Light ad with the Hawk on it.

[@allex_]

instead of having your audience constantly clicking off your videos to another video, simply say “link in the description.” stresses me out bc i want to watch it, but also want to finish the video i’m on first, and by the time it’s over i can’t get back to it unless i were to go back through the video to find it.

[@chrisuncleahmad]

Welcome to Dumb (Super Bowl advertising) Decisions

[@MichaelPiz]

Dude! Love your work but if you keep getting worked up like that, you're gonna pop a blood vessel. Time to switch to decaf.

[@thomasb-o6j]

These ads aren’t bad in my opinion. They’re not great, but are average.

[@RetroJR3379]

Heres the joke... This Taco Bell commercial stuck around ive seen it few time during WWF Smackdown and WB

[@goalscorerlajon]

Why are you YELLING????

[@diaz5292]

The comedian Bill Hicks, now dead (RIP), had a theory as to what would make for a great and effective advertisement, lol

[@eyeluvverbutterdogsheds4941]

I busted out laughing when I heard “the first ad involving the guys going to the den to check out the taco”. Like my God, what a sentence. How does a group of people paid to do advertising come up with this? And this was their best ideas, imagine the other ones. The second commercial was far too generic. A lazy voiceover with fancy shots of the food in a way we know it won’t look like, complete with a random quote from x media outlet. I don’t understand how you spend $2 million USD to have a voice over about your steak quesadilla & the ingenuousness of its design. Just bonkers. $2,000,000.00. Wow.

[@markellzey1531]

This video was as boring as the ad in question....

[@haywoodjablowme699]

Does anyone pay ANY attention to Taco Bell commercials other than there's "meat, cheese, vegetables and a tortilla"?

[@kevincrittenden7567]

I'm really digging the insight into the history. Ur very detailed and funny

[@freeparking301]

Taco Bell aint exactly hitting outta the park with their ads right now either because when I think of tacos I don’t think of otherkin! “Oh look the goofy dumbass dressed as a goat wants a taco…I better go get one and be as cool as that guy.” Has been said by no one ever.

[@jamesage24]

Haven't seen them lately but those ads were running all last summer. And they were awful.

[@freeparking301]

@@jamesage24 It’s definitely been a trend for nearly a year. Whoever is handling their advertising is missing the point. Show me a five dollar box with some new item that uses the same seven ingredients mixed up in a new exciting way, maybe in some new weird shell and jam in enough stuff to make that box worth getting and the job is done. Show the food, ring the bell, promote the item and get out of there. It’s Taco Bell! There are enough stoners with the munchies that it sells itself. No need weirding us out with awkward focus grouped, Gen Whatever the hell this is garbage.

[@jamiewiesner135]

The worst situation a company can get into advertising wise is if their commercial is set to premiere during the second half of the super bowl but the game is a blow out and people stop watching.

[@nasetvideos]

I remember this very well--You articulated and told the story with such detail. Another great Super Bowl commercial video by you. These are so well done on your end.

[@TB-vz8xg]

The only thing that could have been worse for 🌮🔔 is if their ads aired directly after U2's Halftime Show.

[@donaldpaluga]

Yeah, that would have been as tasteless as a chicken sandwich at Jack In The Box

[@banjoplayingbison2275]

I mean its probably the time a lot of people use the Bathroom during the event and Taco Bell makes you run to the Bathroom

[@mrmoose6619]

The second ad should have been a stand alone or lead ad of the two. It's a good parody of car commercials and shows the product well. It may not be everyone's taste, but it's at least it's not the worst ad I have ever seen. Too bad they led with a lame ad that wasn't funny and wasn't even a country mile close to a Super Bowl ad and left a bad taste in my mouth.

[@walker1984]

I actually thought the second ad was better and more effective on presenting the product. The other was just silly. The second at least made me want it, which was the whole point of the ad.

[@smartacus1367]

Where did you find the USA Today ad meter from 2002? I can only find the one from the last 5 or so years

[@chadwickwhite6107]

Taco Bell as a RESTAURANT is WORSE than a 39.6. They ought to just THROW tacos at OFFENSIVE football teams on EVERY single OFFENSIVE play!!!!

[@stevengrvp]

3 more days

[@DODGERBLUE55]

If you want to see that video click the card in the upper right corner… Would if I could…there’s never anything to click

[@gordtron]

as far as i know, you can hire a spanish overdub actor and buy a bunch of chihuahuas for maybe a few grand, tops! just let the ad do its own thing from there.

[@stevekarr5]

I worked for FCB at that time, and it is almost impossible to produce any TV ad in the timeframe this video mentions, much less anything on the level of a Super Bowl ad. Blaming the agency here is BS, this was on the client.

[@teen_laqueefa]

Yes, he is rather harsh on the agency

[@banjoplayingbison2275]

Honestly I think they just decided to premiere the ads they where already going to air elsewhere on TV since they seem like your average run of the mill Fast Food commercials

[@americankulak2294]

The nursing home Taco Bell Super Bowl ad in 2010 is so funny and so great that it gives them a pass for all the rest of eternity.

[@luisreyes1963]

They can make a multi-million dollar ad directed by James Cameron & featuring Pixar's animation for Super Bowl & they still won't get me to eat that glorified Taco Bell dog food. 🐕

[@reidcraig3739]

Let's be honest, how many people watched or listened to this video while eating a Tacob Bell?

[@omarrobles7851]

LOL just watch the very next ad after the second Taco Bell commercial at 35:47. I wonder if that was actually controversial considering the context at the time. kzbin.info/www/bejne/sITRYaZ5gs9laLM

[@banjoplayingbison2275]

It gets followed by peak War on Drug and War on Terror propaganda!?!? Well apparently a Taco Bell ad got more dislike than Government Propaganda

[@omarrobles7851]

@@banjoplayingbison2275 Btw, there's another one like that at 28:28 and two really messed up Truth ads at 4:28 and 26:54 (the last one is right next to ANOTHER TACO BELL AD). Really weird timing for that kind of commercials in the Super Bowl.

[@clydemiller4776]

Yeah, I was probably one of the 5 people who laughed at the “S-Class” line from the first ad. As a whole the ad probably would’ve worked for a 1:00 game during Week 4, but was subpar for the Super Bowl. And the fact that they tried to parlay a throwaway line, albeit a good one at that, into an entire second ad is just…baffling. It’s the advertising equivalent of movies made from SNL sketches that pretty much always flop, because there aren’t enough jokes to keep it funny for another 90 minutes - or 30 seconds, as it were. I wonder if someone from Roche put them up to this…

[@osu4mul8r]

Still licking my wounds from pathetic performance in SB Trivia last night. 🙈

[@JohnDoe-gk7ok]

Either way, the steak quesadilla looks pretty tasty. Do they still make it?

[@JohnDoe-gk7ok]

@Chris Smith I’m not saying that the ad was very imaginative or funny, but it looked pretty harmless to me. It didn’t turn me off from buying the product at all.

[@SaginawCareerComplex]

@@JohnDoe-gk7ok I think dude might be getting a little far outside his lane here. Either be a Madison Avenue ad reviewer or be a football history guy.

[@JohnDoe-gk7ok]

@@SaginawCareerComplex I actually enjoy these reviews of old SB ads, and I’m still impressed that he throws a new presentation together several times a week. But this ad just doesn’t seem that egregious to me. But of course, nothing will ever beat that chihuahua: “Yo quiero Taco Bell”. 😊

[@NosferatusCoffin]

Ironically enough, I just sat down here with dinner, to see what Jag9 had up his sleeve today. What was dinner? Three homemade tacos. Talk about a 39.6 Irony Spike. As for the ads, they were very run of the mill stuff. The type you might see on any given day and go "ho hum". Not bad, not good and certainly not Super Bowl quality ads. That was $2 million wasted, when they could have made them for pennies on the dollar during the off-season. New product launch or not.

[@PowerPackers90]

I mean, the fact that the quesadilla is still one of their hot sellers mean they really failed?

[@bigtimetimmyjim6486]

The product is great, but the ads themselves are beyond contrived and bland.

[@smartacus1367]

@BigTimeTimmyJim What are you talking about? It’s the S-Class!

[@e93sports80]

👍👍

[@gabrielszakaly6232]

Taco Bell had fiesta fries back in the day?

[@LeighMet]

THe game wasn't a dud. It was a classic

[@OfficialJaguarGator9]

Super Bowl XXIX was a dud (when they first advertised at the Super Bowl). Obviously, Super Bowl XXXVI was one of the greatest ever

[@harryasmith527]

Taco Bell makes some of the best commercials now a days, guess they learned from past mistakes.

[@paultheaudaciousbradford6772]

You’re running a FOOD ad! You’re showing folks shots of FOOD and trying to make them hungry - make them wanna go out and buy your FOOD. Whether you surprise your viewers with a clever joke at the end isn’t going to affect their decision to go to your restaurant.

[@newdem08]

If the point was to sell quesadillas, the ads were a success. Still on the menu and still a hit. Sounds like you're the one looking for filler content, don't be so pressed.

[@squibs_lol1446]

The steak quesadilla isn’t even that good

[@scottybbadd]

Wrong, the 2nd ad is memorable for how bad it is.

[@mustaffa1611]

i wonder if jaguar gator will ever do a video on this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/naazpmmKip6Xo9k

[@banjoplayingbison2275]

If I where him I’d do it for April Fools Day!

[@mustaffa1611]

@@banjoplayingbison2275 everyday is april fool's day when you're pretending the nfl is not rigged

[@joejamros]

It's not a disaster because New England Patriots won their first ever super bowl.

[@therainmakerinsider]

L

[@joeylawn36111]

🤮