Taco Bell has hit it with this one.
To understand why that’s such a rarity among tag lines, here are my thoughts on why this one not only does what branding should, but excels at doing so.
- It focuses the intended customer on the intended product.
- It makes a commodity of competitive offerings.
- It leverages a cliché without subjecting itself to forgetability.
- It’s seven words or less.
Yeah, if you’re a fast food consumer, you can probably stop and think your way through other menu options at your familiar drive-through that don’t involve a bun. But the immediate image of the place still puts what it offers firmly between two pieces of bread, as Taco Bell argues. They own Mexican fast food, and can afford to risk losing the folks who’ll think-outside their way to Kentucky Fried Chicken or take-out Chinese.
Now outside of the box (as the original cliché directs), the customer is well on his way to increased up-selling by way of the Taco Bell “Fourth Meal” concept. You know, that time when they argue for additional eating, between dinner and breakfast. Forget “midnight snack.”
And stick competitors with the challenge of overcoming an immediate brand association and established preference for the company that coined the term — even if they’ve scampered to schedule accomodating hours accordingly.
