Del Taco Cooks Retro Style

Del Taco launches its latest ad campaign featuring Dan the Product Guy with an emphasis on made-from-scratch beans, a vital ingredient in Del Tacos 99 cent * Pound Bean & Cheese Burritos. The new television commercial reminds consumers that Del Taco goes the extra mile for quality by slow-cooking its beans for three hours the old fashioned way.

"We are making a quality statement that set's us apart from the competition," said Tim Hackbardt, Vice President of Marketing for Del Taco. "During a recent round of focus groups, we found customers prefer fresh ingredients. However, many participants thought we used dehydrated beans like some of our Mexican fast food competitors. The participants of the study that knew we made our beans from scratch were passionate and very loyal to our brand over other brands to the point of refusing to visit the other brands just because of this freshness advantage."

The spot uses an '80s retro flashback as Dan recalls how cooking the beans hasn't changed since his first day at Del Taco years ago. In his flashback, Dan sports an '80s big hair coif and dances the robot while he's slow cooking the beans. A throw back to the 80's style manager supports Dan's energetic work style by telling Dan he has "nice moves." Dan continues to show his dancing prowess by unleashing his version of the moonwalk as he heads back to tend to slow cooking the beans. Created and produced by G&M Plumbing of Santa Monica, the spot will air in Los Angeles, San Diego, Bakersfield, Blythe, Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Reno, Modesto, Salt Lake City, Santa Maria, Yucca Valley, Yuma/El Centro and Phoenix, Flagstaff and Kingman, Arizona.

A complementary radio spot features Dan requesting suggestions from his co-workers on how to let consumers know Del Taco cooks its beans for three hours. The radio campaign will air in Bullhead city, AZ, Bakersfield, Palms Springs, Santa Maria and Watsonville, CA.

New Shake Debuts

For a limited time, Del Taco will also offer a new shake called Dulce de Leche, which is a caramel flavor based on a popular Mexican dessert.