Our key consumer group of 18-24 year-olds are social media savvy, yet highly cynical of advertising. To break through we needed to ensure creative relevance, so we created the Super Delicious Ingredient Force. Ten-ingredient based super heroes representing Taco Bell’s unique ingredient profile. The Force’s irreverent tone connected with our cynical target, making them receptive to Taco Bell and their promotional messaging.The Force was launched via webisodes on Taco Bell’s YouTube page. In addition, each member of the Force had an online presence that consumers could engage with. Through Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr, the Force offered a seemingly endless social media experience.

Just days after launch, hundreds of thousands of fans began proclaiming their love for the Force. Industry blogs and pop culture related sites also followed suit. And in just six months, brand engagement jumped where we saw the time people spent engaging with Taco Bell online went from 2,000 hours to 77,000. The Force had grown consumer brand engagement by a whopping 37 times, making the Super Delicious Ingredient Force far and above Taco Bell’s greatest social media success. In addition, an unintended expression of engagement came from a dramatic jump of Taco Bell’s Facebook fans from 900,000 to 4.6 million.