Doing Good is Now as Easy as Eating Your Favorite Taco Bell Taco
Doritos® Locos Taco celebrates its fifth anniversary with a new
mashup: eat a taco and feed a student’s dream
IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Doritos® Locos Taco, the Taco Bell menu item that changed the way
America thinks about crunchy tacos five years ago, is now changing how
people can do good.
Taco Bell is celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Doritos® Locos
Taco by paying it forward with its Feed a Dream promotion, making it
easier than ever to give back. Beginning March 23 and lasting for two
weeks, Taco Bell will donate ten cents for each à la carte Doritos®
Locos Taco purchased, up to $500,000, to the Taco Bell Foundation’s Live
Más Scholarship to fund the passions of young people. Eat a taco,
feed a dream – it’s that simple to make a difference.
“We know how much our fans love the Doritos® Locos Taco,” said Brian
Niccol, Chief Executive Officer at Taco Bell Corp. and Chairman of the
Taco Bell Foundation. “We’re equally passionate about the Live Más
Scholarship, which is why we decided to try something new, joining the
scholarship with our most successful product for the benefit of today’s
young innovators, creators and dreamers. Doing good is as easy as eating
your favorite taco.”
More than a fundraiser, the Feed a Dream campaign brings a new approach
to Taco Bell’s marketing and advertising, enlisting Live Más Scholarship
recipients to create the television commercials and taco
packaging and wrap. By leveraging the relationships and creative
opportunities a nationwide marketing campaign provides, Taco Bell is not
only financially supporting the passions of Live Más Scholarship
recipients, but also connecting them with top professionals in their
fields of study and putting their passions into practice.
“Beneath all our creativity and irreverence is a company with a
beautiful heart,” said Marisa Thalberg, Chief Marketing Officer at Taco
Bell Corp. “Now, for the first time ever, we are uniting our products
and our purpose of supporting the passions of young people in a really
fresh and meaningful way. As we continue to grow the Live Más
Scholarship program, our vision is that it becomes ‘for the kids, by the
kids.’ In that spirit, all of the communications you will see for this
Feed a Dream initiative were either created or inspired by our first
class of Live Más Scholarship recipients.”
To create the Feed
a Dream campaign, students participated in a creative workshop in
Chicago, where they worked side by side with veteran advertising and
marketing creatives to develop the campaign’s ad concept and script.
Scholarship recipients were also involved in the filming of the ad in
California, performing key jobs from behind-the-scenes strategizing and
set development to starring roles. Recipients also created three unique
designs that will be featured on the Doritos® Locos Taco exclusive taco
holster packaging and wrap during the promotion. The 30-second
television commercial will air nationally on March 26.
“Not only was I invited to help come up with the Feed a Dream ad, but my
artwork is also being used for the Doritos® Locos Taco holsters,” said
Devon Woodrum, 22. “When I first applied to the Live Más Scholarship, I
never imagined it would mean so much more than the money – I’m getting
access to all of these unbelievable opportunities and experiences that
are helping me advance my passion and career.”
Taco Bell and the Taco Bell Foundation turned traditional scholarships
on their head in 2015 with the launch of the Live Más Scholarship – a
scholarship for students whose passions may not necessarily fit into the
conventional “academic” or “athletic” scholarship categories. The Feed a
Dream campaign is another example of how the Live Más Scholarship defies
conventional scholarships by creating unprecedented real world
opportunities for recipients, who have participated in a variety of
exciting events over the past year, including:
-
At the MTV Movie Awards, a scholarship winner and future Hollywood
filmmaker worked with social media influencers to create the first
ever fan-fueled
film. -
During the 2016
VMAs pre-show, a fashion designer outfitted the event staff, a
music technology major supported sound engineering and an aspiring
photographer captured compelling footage that was featured on MTV.com. -
At the 2017
NBA All-Star Taco Bell Skills Challenge, a photography major
joined professionals in his field court-side to snap shots of top NBA
champions, a media maven took over the NBA All-Star Twitter handle and
a sculptor even designed the trophy that was presented to the Skills
Challenge winner. -
During the Feed
the Beat® show at the largest music festival in Austin, one music
business student served as event manager, while her fellow scholarship
winner put his art classes to the test before a crowd as a live
muralist.
Taco Bell fans are invited to feed a dream by visiting their local
restaurant March 23-April 8, purchasing an à la carte Doritos® Locos
Taco, sharing a picture using #FeedADream and encouraging young
innovators, creators and dreamers to apply for the Live Más Scholarship.
Funds raised from the Feed a Dream promotion will enable the Taco Bell
Foundation to award $1.3 million this year to 155 students through
scholarships ranging from $5,000-$25,000.
For more about the Live Más Scholarship, including how to apply, check
out ta.co here.
About Taco Bell Corp.
Taco Bell Corp., a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), is the
nation’s leading Mexican-inspired quick service restaurant (QSR) brand.
From breakfast to late night, Taco Bell serves made-to-order and
customizable tacos and burritos, among other craveable choices, and is
the first QSR to offer American Vegetarian Association-certified menu
items. Taco Bell and its more than 350 franchise organizations proudly
serve over 42 million customers each week through 7,000 restaurants
across the nation, as well as through its mobile, desktop and
delivery ordering
services. Overseas, Taco Bell has more than 250 restaurants, with plans
to add 2,000 restaurants internationally within the next decade. The
brand encourages its fans to “Live Más” and connects with them through
sports, gaming and new music via its Feed
The Beat® music program. Taco Bell also provides educational
opportunities and serves the community through support of the Taco
Bell® Foundation™ and connects fans with their passions through
programs such as the Live
Más Scholarship. In 2016, Taco Bell was named one of Fast
Company’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in the World.
About Taco Bell Foundation
Taco Bell Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity that helps
America’s young people follow their dreams and reach their full
potential. Since 1992, the Foundation has helped more than three million
youth across the country and has awarded more than $60 million in grants
and scholarships, focused on education and career readiness. In 2017,
more than $5 million dollars will be disbursed to 350 youth-serving
organizations across the country.
About the Live Más Scholarship
Taco Bell Foundation created the Live
Más Scholarship in 2015 for the innovators, creators and dreamers
aged 16-24 whose passions may not necessarily fit into the conventional
“academic” or “athletic” scholarship categories. The program helps young
people pursue their unique passions through post-high school education
funding, as well as access to opportunities that advance their careers.
In 2016, the Taco Bell Foundation awarded $1.3 million to 270 young
adults, including 50 Taco Bell employees. This year the Taco Bell
Foundation will award another $1.3 million to 155 people through
scholarships ranging from $5,000-$25,000 each. The scholarship
application just reopened
in February 2017 and the deadline is May 12, 2017. To apply, submit a
two-minute video on the website
that tells the story of your life’s passion. It could be a short film,
animation or just a simple testimonial.
Like: Facebook.com/tacobell –
Follow: @TacoBell
(Twitter), tacobell (Instagram)
and tacobell (Snapchat) – Subscribe: Youtube.com/TacoBell
– Explore: ta.co
Contacts
Taco Bell Corp.
Alec Boyle, 949-863-8423
Alec.Boyle@yum.com
or
Edelman
Ashley
Whitlock, 202-551-9841
Ashley.Whitlock@edelman.com
