Ketchup 014: Mexican Pizza Returns, Something to Offend Everyone, Keep The Amazon Prime, & Met Rihanna
+ Deutsch LA, Edelman, The Syndicate, MullenLowe, Opinionated, Wrestler, Studio Birthplace, SS+K, FCB, Mischief @ No Fixed Address, WorkInProgress & Unit 9, MSCHF, Saatchi & Saatchi & The Mill
Welcome to this month’s advertising catch-up with Ketchup, a once-a-month roundup of creative that got me excited. If you like this type of thing, subscribe!
Heya! 🍕🌮
Let’s talk about Taco Bell, Doja Cat, and the brilliant return of the Mexican Pizza.
Mexican Pizza: Taco Bell removed the fan favorite in 2020 in an effort to streamline faster meals. But fans immediately pushed back creating a Change.org petition with over 170,000 signatures. Even with the growing number of pleas TB harshly suggested diehards go eat as many pizzas as possible before they were officially gone.
Doja Cat: In 2020, was just starting to become a star with her song "Say So" taking TikTok by storm. This hit landed her on the Billboard Hot 100 and propelled her to become the most streamed female artist of the year, and finally won her a spot as MTV’s Best New Artist. Unfortunately, her tour was halted by covid, but her momentum couldn’t be stopped.
A timeline of events that created the buzziest product collab:
May 2021 - Doja Cat tweeted “I will do everything in my power to bring back the mexican pizza from taco bell.” TBell responded by congratulating her on her upcoming album release.
September 2021 – Doja Cat got a little bit more candid with her order “I want my fuckin mexican pizza back @tacobell why u quiet.” Teeb did not respond publicly.
November 2021 – Using her star power and persistency “Hey @tacobell, just heard my song in your commercial… I'm a #TacoBellPartner now. where's my Mexican Pizza?” Again no public comment.
February 2022 – She stars in TB’s Super Bowl ad The Grande Escape.
March 2022 – Teases partnership through 'Contractual Jingle' on TikTok with a Mexican Pizza Freestyle that 100% slaps.
April 2022 – Doja Cat officially announces the return of the Mexican Pizza during her Coachella set.
May 2022 – Mexican Pizza returns to menus everywhere.
Coming up: TBell has revealed, “Mexican Pizza The Musical” which will air on TikTok with Doja Cat & Dolly Parton.
Why it works: Because Taco Bell anchors itself to what 25-year-olds love and right now they love Doja Cat & TikTok. Not only are they tapping into a cultural icon they are also letting Doja do Doja with her lo-fi content and natural plugs. It's a perfect match.
Applause to Deutsch LA, Edelman, The Syndicate, and the creative team at Taco Bell for making this tasty collab happen.
⚡️⬇️ What you came here for. ⬇️⚡️
Fork (Ads)
Something to Offend Everyone by MullenLowe NY – Brooklyn Film Festival (BFF) addresses your cringe straight on because art can be triggering and they pride themselves on never censoring filmmakers. Don’t sleep on these explosive OOH.
OutHorse Your Email by SS+K – Visit Iceland knows how hard it is to not answer your work emails on vacation so they’ve trained Icelandic horses to reply for you.
Monster Problem by Opinionated – Miro the collaboration tool shows how quickly WFH teams can solve big problems like Kaiju monsters destroying your city.
Keep The Amazon Prime by Wrestler – For Earth Day Allbirds uses an 80s-inspired infomercial & early-web aesthetics to remind us about the Amazon before Jeff Bezos’s Amazon.
Wasteminster by Studio Birthplace – Greenpeace’s short film uses stop motion animation to raise awareness of the UK government’s failings on waste. (2021)
Broadband Nightmares by Saatchi & Saatchi & The Mill – BT shows a nightmare-like version of the family’s reality when the wifi goes down.
Naomi Osaka & Devin Booker for Sweetgreen – Gives us a foodie ASMR announcement for their new ambassador partnerships.
The Myth by Wieden + Kennedy PDX – From the Call It Covid-19 team, released a new film about the pressures on the ‘model minority’ and the long-term ramifications.
McEnroe vs. McEnroe by FCB NY – Michelob Ultra pits tennis legend McEnroe against five of his younger selves in this real vs virtual tennis match.
Knife (Drops)
Ultimate Participation Trophy by MSCHF – Sells $1000 Tiffany & Co. trophies that cover all sports in one trophy, even equestrian.
Domino's x Stranger Things Mind Ordering app by WorkInProgress & Unit 9 –This brand entertainment tie-in lets fans order pizza with their mind … sort of, through facial recognition people can unlock pies and more.
Nurses Weak Gifts by Mischief @ No Fixed Address – Because companies are terrible at saying thank you, Nurses can now exchange their weak gifts for real ones during nurse week with ConnectRN.
Met Rihanna by Vogue Magazine – Because Rihanna couldn’t attend the 2022 Met Gala this year Vogue paid tribute to the met queen by immortalizing her with a marble statue – complete with a baby bump.
The Unburnable Book by Rethink – Penguin Random House brings awareness to the alarming rise in book censorship & burnings across America by giving Margaret Atwood a flamethrower and a burn-proof edition of “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
Spoon: (Resources)
Hire Black Creatives – A list of Photographers, Film Directors, and Creative Directors for your next project.
After School by Casey Lewis – Substack newsletter that keeps you on Gen Z trends.
Instagram New Brand Identity – Refined their brand look to align with the evolution of creators.
Interval Type by Ilya Naumoff – Typeface foundry that focuses on Latin and Cyrillic scripts.
Calvin Klein slammed for featuring a pregnant man for Mothers Day – The internet lost their shit, but I think it's a W.
Out of Order by Nicolas Heller – a.k.a the legend @newyorknico is set to release his narrative short at the Tribeca Film Festival.
D.M.B. by A$AP Rocky – Gives us a new ride-or-die love story with a beautifully cool music video.
Design in Motion Festival 2022 – Submit your work!
⚠️ Content Warning ⚠️
Most of this issue was written prior to the Buffalo, Laguna Woods, and Uvalde events. Instead of collecting what brands are saying and doing, which many are doing a great job at, I wanted to resurface some honorable work from the last year:
The Lost Class by Leo Burnett Chicago – With Change the Ref, fools Ex-NRA Chief into giving a graduation speech to students killed by guns.
Back-To-School Essentials by BBDO NY – For Sandy Hook Promise, released a chilling PSA to remind people that school shootings shouldn’t be normalized.
Best Unbox Ever With Cayden Grey NY – From States United to Prevent Gun Violence, highlights that 4.6 million U.S. kids live in homes with unsecured guns.
Donate now to Everytown and help defeat the Gun Lobby's extremism.
VOTE. VOTE. VOTE.
& that’s the sauce.
🍕🌮
– KK