Del Taco’s New Ad Campaign Adds Spice to Taco Wars

It’s finally come to name calling.

Costa Mesa-based Del Taco has unleashed an aggressive series of commercials that take direct aim against the “Ding Dong Taco Co.”

No other names are mentioned. But then, none need to be. A 30-second television commercial that began airing last week shows a large blue bell in the background of the mythical “Ding Dong” restaurant where a customer just can’t get what he wants.

The ads--along with a 60-second radio spot that hit the airways Monday--are an obvious swipe at industry giant Taco Bell, the Irvine-based Pepsico subsidiary that is Del Taco’s arch rival.

Del Taco’s new campaign is the latest salvo in California’s taco wars. That battle has been heating up since last March when Anwar Soliman bought Del Taco and Naugles and began combining the 366 restaurants under the Del Taco banner.

Wider Variety

Soliman vowed then to unseat Taco Bell as the industry leader. Since then, Del Taco has unleashed a series of ads stressing how Southern California consumers should “stand up for the right to have the food you like.” The basic pitch of the ads created by J. Walter Thompson is that Del Taco and Naugles offer wider variety and unique menu items like the new fajita burrito.

In the newest TV commercial--titled “Five Easy Burritos”--a customer at the “Ding Dong Taco Co.” is told he can’t have a fajita burrito.

The radio spot, also at a competing restaurant, takes the message a step further. “I’d like a fajita burrito,” a customer says. “Well, I’d like a beach house in Malibu,” the server answers. “All we got are five easy burritos--with beans, more beans, still more beans, lots of beans, and with some meat and rice.”

Both TV and radio ads end by telling customers to “stand up” for the food they want.

The message? “Ours is a quality produce made the way the consumer wants it. And there’s the variety,” said Dane Waitkus, Del Taco’s vice president of marketing.

New Store Design

In addition to its new menu and heavy ad campaign, Del Taco and Naugles operations are now testing new store designs to give the combined operations the same look. The company is experimenting with a three-striped design, accented by a colorful tile pattern, at two restaurants in Orange and Los Angeles counties.

“We’re trying to come up with a design that is Mexican and uniquely Del Taco,” explained Wayne Armstrong, company president. The eventual design, he said, will identify both Del Taco and Naugles as belonging to the same chain and clearly distinguish them from the competition.

Whether the $1-million ad campaign and the new decor do the job remains to be seen.

But Taco Bell isn’t likely to let Del Taco go unnoticed. The 2,712-restaurant chain has been continuing its “Head for the Border” campaign and backing it up with a series of price discounts on selected items.