Del Taco's Big Fat Difference

Bluntly distinguishing itself from its major competitor Taco Bell, Del Taco today introduces the Big Fat Crispy Chicken Taco in a new advertising campaign. In a new series of TV commercials featuring the "Dan" character launched last April, Del Taco makes clear that the Big Fat Crispy Chicken Taco is "something Taco Bell doesn't have."

The Big Fat Crispy Chicken Taco is a new addition to the company's popular Big Fat taco line designed to compete with Taco Bell's gordita line. The new Big Fat Crispy Chicken Taco features a crispy, all-white meat chicken patty, lettuce, tomatoes, cheddar cheese and a new ancho chile sauce on warm flatbread.

"Consumers simply want to know why they should come to your restaurant and not someone else's," said Tim Hackbardt, vice president of marketing at Del Taco, Inc. "We have a simple message: If you like flatbread tacos, we have a crispy chicken version, and Taco Bell doesn't. So come and get 'em."

Del Taco will be rotating two separate television commercials that were shot outside the Taco Bell headquarters in Irvine, California. Both commercials feature the "one man show" product development character "Dan" launched in a previous commercial aired in April. The first commercial ends with "Dan" running around the sizeable Taco Bell building with a giant photo of the Big Fat Crispy Chicken Taco to taunt them with what they don't have, only to collapse from exhaustion on the sidewalk. The second commercial features "Dan" unveiling a stationary sign of the Big Fat Crispy Chicken Taco that he has erected across from the competitor's headquarters as a permanent fixture intended to flaunt his product development prowess in front of Taco Bell on a daily basis. His efforts are once again defeated when a truck parks in front of his sign completely blocking it from anyone's view.

The TV campaign will be running in Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Las Vegas, Modesto, Sacramento, Palm Springs, and Salt Lake City. A complementary radio campaign also is running in Bullhead City, Flagstaff, Reno, Phoenix, San Diego, and Yuma. Del Taco is a privately held company that operates, or franchises, 360 Mexican quick service restaurant locations throughout the U.S.