A Little Bark Gives Taco Bell a Bigger Bite

In a commercial world where frogs croak for a brewery and a bunny drums up business for a battery company, it's probably no surprise that a Chihuahua would end up barking about tacos for Taco Bell Corp. But not even advertising industry executives who created the quirky ad campaign guessed how popular the "Yo quiero Taco Bell" (I want Taco Bell) ads would become.

"We never set out to create an icon for the company, but that's what it became," said Clay Williams, creative director at TBWA Chiat Day, which dreamed up the dog for Irvine-based Taco Bell. "What we set out to do was create a fun, interesting campaign."

The minuscule dog with the permanent smirk and the evocative voice was one of 1998's hottest advertising phenomena. It has appeared in nearly 20 commercials and is now filming a new batch of ads that will run in the spring, when Taco Bell introduces a line of more expensive menu items to be sold during the dinner hour.

Restaurant company executives are betting that the dog will--to borrow a phrase from the Energizer Bunny--keep going and going and going.

"People only get tired of boring ads," said David E. Novak, vice chairman of Tricon Global Restaurants, the Louisville, Ky.-based company that owns Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut. "If we can keep it exciting, [the Chihuahua] can last forever."'

Whether counted in dog years or fiscal quarters, the cash that the Chihuahua is able to keep ringing up in burrito sales will be determined by how adept its handlers are at safeguarding the dog's carefully crafted image and personality. Too much exposure among media-savvy teens, experts say, and the canine will die a premature death.

"We're really cautious about having him burn out before his time," said Williams, who is charged with keeping the Chihuahua's image fresh. "We view it like a TV sitcom, which could go on for 10 or 12 years if we manage it correctly. But the onus is on us to ensure we don't overexpose it."

Fast Promotion to the Top Dog

The campaign has already endured a few rough spots. Leaders of some Latino groups have complained that the dog and its accent are demeaning. Some franchisees grew worried that the dog's hip image could have been damaged last year when Taco Bell allowed Kraft to use the Chihuahua in advertising for a licensed line of food goods sold in grocery stores.

And Taco Bell executives won't talk about a lawsuit filed last year in Michigan by Wrench, a two-man marketing firm that claims Taco Bell stole the idea for a Chihuahua campaign from them.