Gidget is rolling over in her grave right now.
Who is Gidget? Well, she was the once-famous Taco Bell Chihuahua who coined the famous phrase "Yo quiero Taco Bell." She died at the age of 15 in July and less than six months later the brand has taken on its next leading lady, Christine Dougherty.
To clarify, Christine is not Gidget's replacement. The dog has long been retired, and it's understating Christine's roll in the company's new marketing efforts by calling her simply a "spokeswoman."
Christine is a success story and to be more specific, a dieting success story! In Taco Bell's newest round of advertising (say goodbye to the guy dressed up as a pregnant woman sneaking nachos into the game), Christine outlines how she lost 54 pounds eating at the brand's drive thru.
In her commercials, she happily explains how she stuck with Taco Bell's Fresco menu items to achieve her weight-loss goals. Of course, there is fine print explaining the details of her experience and the media has instantly latched on to that fact.
But if you're thinking this story sounds familiar, that's because Jared Fogle did the same thing on a far bigger scale by eating sandwiches from Subway more than a decade ago. He lost more than 200 pounds and was catapulted to pop-culture stardom after staring in a series of commercials for the company. There have been others, but no one has come close to Jared's notoriety until recently.
In all the recent talk about Christine's Taco Bell success, however, Jared seems to be the real winner. From the NY Daily Post to ABC News to the Huffington Post, major news outlets can't seem to cover Christine's story without throwing in Jared's name and his accompanying brand. So while the Taco Bell team surely worked long and hard to develop the Drive Thru Diet commercial, Web site, and coupon, Subway sat back and reaped the benefits.
It's that fact that would have Gidget mad if she were around today. When she was the brand's icon, she was the trailblazer and other brands replicated her campaign. Today, Christine seems to be a copycat version of a success story we've all already heard.
What do you think about Christine's story? Is this the beginning of a great marketing relationship? Or is this too close to Jared's story to be successful? Who's the real winner? Christine and Taco Bell? Jared and Subway? Or, perhaps, Gidget?
Who is Gidget? Well, she was the once-famous Taco Bell Chihuahua who coined the famous phrase "Yo quiero Taco Bell." She died at the age of 15 in July and less than six months later the brand has taken on its next leading lady, Christine Dougherty.
To clarify, Christine is not Gidget's replacement. The dog has long been retired, and it's understating Christine's roll in the company's new marketing efforts by calling her simply a "spokeswoman."
Christine is a success story and to be more specific, a dieting success story! In Taco Bell's newest round of advertising (say goodbye to the guy dressed up as a pregnant woman sneaking nachos into the game), Christine outlines how she lost 54 pounds eating at the brand's drive thru.
In her commercials, she happily explains how she stuck with Taco Bell's Fresco menu items to achieve her weight-loss goals. Of course, there is fine print explaining the details of her experience and the media has instantly latched on to that fact.
But if you're thinking this story sounds familiar, that's because Jared Fogle did the same thing on a far bigger scale by eating sandwiches from Subway more than a decade ago. He lost more than 200 pounds and was catapulted to pop-culture stardom after staring in a series of commercials for the company. There have been others, but no one has come close to Jared's notoriety until recently.
In all the recent talk about Christine's Taco Bell success, however, Jared seems to be the real winner. From the NY Daily Post to ABC News to the Huffington Post, major news outlets can't seem to cover Christine's story without throwing in Jared's name and his accompanying brand. So while the Taco Bell team surely worked long and hard to develop the Drive Thru Diet commercial, Web site, and coupon, Subway sat back and reaped the benefits.
It's that fact that would have Gidget mad if she were around today. When she was the brand's icon, she was the trailblazer and other brands replicated her campaign. Today, Christine seems to be a copycat version of a success story we've all already heard.
What do you think about Christine's story? Is this the beginning of a great marketing relationship? Or is this too close to Jared's story to be successful? Who's the real winner? Christine and Taco Bell? Jared and Subway? Or, perhaps, Gidget?
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