Why Taco Bell’s 350% More Calories Isn’t Working
Taco Bell's Drive-Thru Diet is getting a lot of virtual ink. Ad Age ran a piece about increasing traffic that includes extensive commentary with clear good vs. bad tones. Folks cite the campaign as either smart and timely or inauthentic, favoring the latter.
Brand authenticity is about how customers perceive what you tell them and what you actually do. "Diet" feels inauthentic because on the one hand, few of us associate the drive-thru with weight loss. Yet, our collective ephemeral response to the ads, and quirks of human memory, caused most of us to compare the Drive-Thru Diet with Subway's Eat Fresh campaign—thus focusing on weight loss. It is this discord that we're all trying to resolve.
Discord can be positive as it allows brands to evolve and change. In so doing, they often lose authenticity temporarily. This happens in two primary ways: when implementation falls short of expectations, and when expectations conflict with marketing messages. The three year-old Fresco menu is a competitive offer in its space that, prior to the "Diet" campaign, made little difference to customer perceptions of Taco Bell. And, while the marketing is a little late to the game, the Fresco menu is in line with other QSR healthy (um... healthier) options at McDonald's and Wendy's. Implementation appears OK.
Or does it? Comparing the Fresco menu and Subway's Low-Fat menu, there's a clear divide. Suffice it to say, when serving sizes are equal Taco Bell trails significantly in every category.
| Comparing Subway and Taco Bell Low-Fat Menu Nutrition, Averages Across all Items | ||||||
| Serving Size (g) | Calories | Saturated Fat (g) | Sodium (mg) | Carbs (g) | Dietary Fiber (g) | |
| Subway | 357.86 | 114.29 | 0.64 | 553.57 | 11.14 | 4.00 |
| Taco Bell | 166.14 | 238.57 | 2.36 | 910.00 | 33.29 | 5.29 |
| Serving Size Normalization Factor | 2.15 | |||||
| Taco Bell (normalized) | 357.86 | 513.86 | 5.08 | 1960.06 | 71.69 | 11.38 |
| Difference (normalized) | 0% | 350% | 690% | 254% | 543% | 185% |
(Data from Subway.com and DriveThruDiet.com, 1/6/10)
Authenticity can only be regained when both marketing and implementation meet or exceed expectations. This is where the Taco Bell case gets complicated. Many of us are still in shock seeing Taco Bell, drive-thru, and diet in the same message. That shock is preventing us from seeing the message that helps realign the marketing message: "Eating better just got easier." Time should resolve this discord when the buzz dies down and the tagline comes to the fore. However, if customers perceive the Fresco menu as unhealthy, the cycle begins again.
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