Taco Bell Makes Play for Publicity in Basketball Ads
In a move to bolster sales, Taco Bell Corp. is running full-page newspaper ads this week based on the rivalry between basketball stars Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O’Neal.
In the first ad, which ran Monday in The Times and several national newspapers, the company’s name did not appear, apparently in an effort to build up interest in commercial sequels scheduled to run soon.
The first ad featured a note from O’Neal challenging Olajuwon to a one-on-one game. The president of Olajuwon’s marketing company said more ads will be published this week as part of an agreement with Irvine-based Taco Bell and its parent, PepsiCo Inc.
Houston Rockets star Olajuwon is trying to build a relationship with PepsiCo that would go beyond specific product endorsements and might include ownership of Pepsi bottling franchises, said Frank Vuono, president of Integrated Sports International, an East Rutherford, N.J., sports marketing firm that represents the athlete.
The star will earn “in the seven figures” over a two-year period for his plugs for Taco Bell and PepsiCo, Vuono said.
A spokeswoman for O’Neal declined to comment.
The players faced each other in the NBA championship series earlier this month, when Olajuwon’s Houston Rockets swept to wins over the Orlando Magic, O’Neal’s team, in four games.
In the letter printed in the first ad, O’Neal challenges Olajuwon to a follow-up match. “Sure, you’re pretty good with your team behind you, but I want you one on one,” the typewritten message reads.
Taco Bell executives declined to comment on whether the company plans to sponsor the two players in an actual competition or whether they would only be featured in a scripted television advertisement.
But advertising analysts said the company has already succeeded in drawing attention to its product by luring the two stars and leaving the company’s name off the ads.
“This isn’t about basketball, this is about getting media attention,” said Jeffrey Pollack, publisher of Sports Business Daily in Alexandria, Va. “The ads have already paid for themselves, with a lot of newspapers writing about them, and it’s created a great buzz on Madison Avenue.”
The campaign is the second major advertising effort this year by Taco Bell. In February, the company launched a campaign tied to the introduction of its low-fat, reduced-calorie line, Border Lights.
The campaign featuring the two basketball stars is probably aimed at Taco Bell’s traditional consumers who may not have been lured by the Border Lights ads, said Emanuel Goldman, analyst at the San Francisco office of PaineWebber Inc.
“I think they are probably looking to put a heavy focus on their core customer,” Goldman said. “Pepsi has historically been a master at using celebrities effectively, so I think this is them continuing to do what they’re good at.”
Rick Burton, vice president of Clarion Performance Properties, a Greenwich, Conn., sports marketing company, said “teaser” ads should be followed up with strong ads linking the basketball rivalry with the Taco Bell brand name.
