In the face of several serious brand challenges, Taco Bell is launching Free Taco Week in Canada today.
The fast food chain will be giving away free tacos until April 13 between the hours of 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. The giveaway will be promoted with a television ad adapted from the U.S. campaign by Toronto agency Grip Ltd., as well as online advertising from OSL Marketing. In-store materials were developed by OSL and AMI. Media duties were handled by United Purchasing Group of Canada.
The brand currently faces a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. that alleges its meat mixture does not meet the standards set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is less than 35% beef.
Taco Bell and its American parent company Yum Brands have been vocal in defending their product, having already launched a massive print campaign and a $3 million U.S. television campaign to counter the lawsuit.
“You could say there’s been a lot of talk about our beef quality lately – and we thought we’d set the record straight and let Canadians taste our amazing beef tacos,” said Dan Howe, chief marketing officer for Yum Restaurants Canada, in a statement echoing the script of the television ad.
The chain currently faces other challenge as well; Priszm Income Fund, which owns a controlling share of more than 400 KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut locations in Canada, is restructuring while under creditor protection. The sale of more than 230 of Priszm’s restaurants had been delayed when sale conditions had not been met. The situation has not caused an interruption in retail business as of yet.
