NEW YORK (AP) — Taco Bell is name-dropping an unlikely clown to promote its new breakfast menu — Ronald
McDonald.
The
fast-food chain will begin airing ads Thursday that feature everyday
men who happen to have the same name as the McDonald’s mascot known for
his bright red hair and yellow jumpsuit. The marketing campaign is
intended to promote Taco Bell’s new breakfast menu, which features
novelties like a waffle taco.
The chain, owned by Yum Brands Inc.
of Louisville, Ky., is looking to boost sales by opening most of its
roughly 6,000 U.S. stores a few hours earlier at 7 a.m. starting this
week. But Taco Bell has a long way to go to catch up with McDonald’s,
the No. 1 player in breakfast with about 31 percent of the category,
according to market researcher Technomic. The popularity of Egg
McMuffins and other items have been a consistent sales driver for
McDonald’s over the years, with breakfast accounting for about 20
percent of the company’s U.S. sales.
By comparison, a Yum
executive has said that breakfast accounted for just 4 percent of sales
when it was being tested at Taco Bell stores in select markets. That was
before national marketing began, however, and Taco Bell president Brian
Niccol said in a phone interview that the goal was to get the figure to
a level "much greater than that."
Taco Bell said the real-life
Ronald McDonalds featured in its new ads were paid for their
appearances. But Niccol, who said he didn’t know how much they were
paid, insists their enthusiastic reactions to the food were real.
"All of them resoundingly loved the food," he said.
Taco
Bell’s ad agency, Deutsche LA, found around 400 men and women with the
name Ronald McDonald, Ronnie McDonald or some variation, Niccol said. A
couple dozen were selected to represent different regions around the
country including Bossier City, La.; Chicago; Dubuque, Iowa; Kane, Pa.
and Worcester, Ma.
The men show their approval of the food with
comments like, "It’s not messy" and "Mmm, wow" and "Mmm, real good" and
"It has everything I like."
In case it wasn’t clear, tiny print at
the end of the ad notes that, "These Ronald McDonalds are not
affiliated with McDonald’s Corporation and were individually selected as
paid endorsers of Taco Bell Breakfast."
"We like to do things with a wink and smile," Niccol said. "We have a sense of
humor."
As
for Ronald McDonald the fast-food clown, the character was first played
by Willard Scott in 1963. He was initially depicted as a character that
magically pulled hamburgers and fries out of his belt. But the mascot
eventually became a target of critics who say McDonald’s uses him to
market to kids.
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