Consumers are growing ever-more accustomed to engaging in lean-through, creative behaviours. Thus, advertising designed for passive consumption struggles to compete with the entertainment content they are choosing to engage with through on-demand. Marketing teams must come up with creative solutions to meet consumers where they are, appealing to their saturated attention spans.
Taco Bell came up with one such creative activation in early 2022. After discontinuing their Mexican Pizza menu item, 100,000 consumers signed a petition to bring it back, at which point the brand contracted Doja Cat to write a song to commemorate the re-release. The music artist was transparent with her fans about the contractual nature of the jingle, but this did not stop the trend from becoming popular, with fan-made videos parodying a musical about the menu item being brought back, gaining millions of views.
Hopping on this trend, the idea for a Taco Bell musical was born, with Dolly Parton allegedly taking part and the Grammy-winning authors of the Bridgerton TikTok musical being brought in to author and direct it.
The musical itself has been postponed, and the brand’s clear marketing intentions generated cynicism about the collaboration. However, by listening to fans and bringing in big names to take part in a light-hearted take, which is easy to riff off, parody, share and comment on, will successfully raise awareness of both the brand and its renewed menu item.
No marketing endeavour is without its risks in the rapid-fire digital social entertainment sphere – but if managed correctly, awareness can be successfully raised and sentiment can improve with recognition, ultimately boosting sales. This also works for artists’ marketing teams who can look for effective partnerships for those who can most effectively connect with their fans and develop content that they will enjoy. Entertainment genres are beginning to fuse – but the crossover potential stretches as far as fast food.