Our campaign addressed the trademarking of “Taco Tuesday,” a ubiquitous term of celebration dating back nearly a century, but trademarked by one brand in the 1980s. The trademark hindered other brands and small businesses, who received cease-and-desist actions just for saying “Taco Tuesday.” By challenging this trademark, we conveyed our brand's commitment to fairness and inclusivity, resonating deeply with stakeholders. Our PR initiatives not only shared our story but also advocated for a broader cultural narrative, fostering strong emotional connections with our audience. This alignment with our values strengthened our brand's reputation and affinity.

"Taco Tuesday" is deeply embedded in American culture, making it a significant cultural touchstone, particularly among Taco Bell's target audience. But the widespread celebration of this tradition was contradicted by the fact that someone claimed “Taco Tuesday” was their exclusive trademark–an injustice that we believed needed to be solved. The earliest documented Taco Tuesday dates back to the October 16, 1933, edition of the El Paso Herald-Post, and today nearly 100,000 restaurants in America serve tacos… on Tuesdays. Yet only one was able to promote it. That’s because they trademarked the phrase in the 1980s, and did not allow any other brand, including thousands of small businesses, to celebrate the taco’s biggest day. By addressing this issue, Taco Bell not only tapped into cultural zeitgeist, but also showcased its commitment to preserving cultural traditions.

Taco Bell's leadership in the taco landscape amplified the impact of this campaign, reinforcing its position as leader and innovator within the space. Additionally, the timing of the campaign aligned with broader societal trends towards corporate responsibility and advocacy for fairness.

Ultimately, this campaign strategically reinforced Taco Bell's brand identity, resonated with its target audience, addressed a pertinent cultural issue, asserted industry leadership, and aligned with societal trends.

For years, Taco Bell captivated Millennials with lifestyle-centric marketing. Now targeting Gen Z, we aimed to redefine our brand identity. Gen Z values brands with clear beliefs, so we stood for the freedom of a beloved tradition, “Taco Tuesday.” Our campaign stemmed from the widespread popularity of Taco Tuesday—and the fact that one brand had trademarked it so they alone could promote it. That was unfair. It hindered other businesses, including small ones, from celebrating. As a leading taco brand, we took action to rectify this issue, recognizing Taco Tuesday's cultural significance and the importance of the tradition. By challenging the trademark, we demonstrated our commitment to fairness and supported the small businesses affected. This initiative aligned with our ethos of authenticity and resonated with our audience, fostering stronger connection with Gen Z. Our objective was clear: Liberate the trademark.

Instead of relying on typical advertising strategies, we chose to pursue an unprecedented approach. Our campaign centered around a real legal petition aimed at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. But in order for that to happen, lawyers had to quickly become creatives, while copywriters became legal scholars. We combined our legal and creative minds to write a singular piece of communication to work as an actual legal petition that could be filed with the US courts, and also to become viral throughout traditional and social media platforms. It was a move with no legal, or marketing, precedent. By challenging norms and pushing the boundaries of brand activism, we demonstrated innovation and creativity that align perfectly with the spirit of our target.

With the firm belief that “Taco Tuesday'' belongs to all who make, sell, eat and celebrate tacos, Taco Bell set out to liberate the trademark and return it to where it rightfully belongs – the people. A multi-phased campaign that drew inspiration from the legal community was built to help media understand this was not just any other brand campaign, but a true legal action Taco Bell was taking to help change the taco landscape forever, and ensure the good intentions of the legal filing remained at the forefront of the campaign. Inspired by the tropes of the legal community, PR set out to raise awareness on the ridiculous trademark limitations, educate on the journey to liberate it, and ultimately celebrate with taco lovers everywhere once it was liberated.

All PR storytelling correlated with the true action behind the campaign, the legal filing to liberate the Taco Tuesday trademark, and simplify an otherwise dense legal topic for food and lifestyle media to create buzz, while leveraging business and legal media more familiar with the legal landscape to avoid perceptions of self-interest. Timed to when Taco Bell filed two legal petitions, PR distributed the first-ever Taco Law Journal and “You’ve Been Served…Tacos” kits, explaining the trademark details with a fun Taco Bell twist. Exclusives with business and legal media more familiar with the legal landscape helped lay the foundation of the story. Throughout the campaign, PR ensured storytelling also focused on those that want to use the phrase -- from mom and pop shops, large chains and local street vendors.

With four unique news cycles, coverage from this program accounted for over 40% of all Taco Bell earned coverage for 2023. ​During the campaign's lifespan, PR managed and secured over 12K+ on-message stories with exclusives in CNN launching the campaign news cycle and again when Taco Tuesday was liberated in all 50 states. ​Top tier coverage was featured in national, food, trade and lifestyle outlets including The Washington Post, Axios, Food & Wine, Nation's Restaurant News, Ad Age, People and more. ​

Additional campaign results include: ​

- 25k+ fan contributed signatures to Change.org petition in support of liberating the trademark​

- Thousands of taco-lovers participating in the Taco Bell x DoorDash Taco Tab offer to cover a percentage of all orders placed from the participating 20,000 Mexican cuisine vendors once liberation was achieved in all 50 states

This work was developed specifically to speak to the American market because the trademark affected all taco business across America. When we discovered “Taco Tuesday” was trademarked, we believed this was a true injustice. The owner of the trademark sent cease-and-desists to businesses who dared to celebrate the day. We knew something had to be done about this. So we took a powerful action: filing a legal petition to challenge the “Taco Tuesday” trademark. We turned an action into a movement. Our objective was to clear, to free the “Taco Tuesday'' trademark so taco businesses could use the term freely. By taking a bold stance on this matter, we demonstrated our commitment to the tradition and its significance in the lives of our fans and fans of tacos everywhere.