Saturday, May 14, 2011

Make it stop


I know you've see this new Taco Bell commercial. If you've had your television on even once this last month, maybe to catch the Osama vs. Obama Celebrity Death Match, you've seen Mr. Way Too Excited About His 89 Cent Taco.

Maybe it's been too long since I've been in my mid-twenties, but I don't ever recall an out of this world culinary experience that had me doing chest bumps with total strangers.

I do remember one incident during my early days at Chiat/Day. After a particularly grueling project my boss came to me on a friday afternoon and said, "take your wife out dinner this weekend. And bring me the bill. No house wine. No split plates. No sharing of desserts. I want you to do some major damage."

And we did. We secured a table at Patina on Melrose and spent an ungodly amount of money on some uncommonly delicious fare. Appetizers, starters, entrees, if memory serves, we even ordered something that was Market Priced -- meaning the restaurant could charge us anything they damn well pleased. That's some nifty capitalism.

To this day, finer food has not passed my gullet. And yet when we left the restaurant, I did not feel inclined to burst into a plyometric display of gastronomic glee. Possibly because my pants were feeling a little tight. Or more likely, because despite what Chief Marketing Officers want to believe, people don't behave that way.  People also don't say things like, "It's not delivery, It's DiGiorno" or "My money, my choice, my Meineke", but that doesn't stop clients, does it?

And yet, that is not why I find lacking in this Taco Bell commercial entitled "Winner".

I'm bigger picture than all that.

You see, if you're in your mid-late twenties and you're at a groovin party decorated with fresh cut flowers and fanciful paper lanterns, not to mention an astounding array of outrageously attractive people,
and they're serving food brought in from the local Taco Bell , neither you nor anyone else at this little shin-dig is a Winner.

2 comments:

george tannenbaum said...

It would be far different, however, if those tacos were 79 cents.

Bukes said...

Ahahahahahaaa, yes. They're losers at a Taco Bell Party.