How Pizza Hut Is Going Head To Head With Taco Bell
Pizza Hut is poking fun at Taco Bell's difficulty keeping its Mexican Pizza in stock by guaranteeing that its new Italian Taco will always be available.
Taco Bell fans were ecstatic when the fan-favorite – Mexican Pizza – returned to the fast food restaurant. However, that joy was short-lived. Shortly after the beloved menu item reappeared, it was gone again. While the chain announced it would return as a permanent menu item, it may now have some competition. Pizza Hut just announced news of a “new” item, the Italian Taco.
If that sounds intriguing, don’t get your hopes up too far. The clever pizza restaurant is not actually offering tacos on its menu. So, then what exactly is the Italian Taco?
It turns out that the “new” Italian Taco is the latest advertising campaign that Pizza Hut launched. And it appears they are using the ad to poke fun at Taco Bell after the chain had to pull the Mexican Pizza off the men so rapidly. The ad cleverly points out that the Italian Taco will never run out.
However, you have to hand it to the marketing team for a unique launch. Pizza Hut announced the news of their “new” menu item with great gusto. At the launch, one employee said: “Feast your eyes and mouths on a hand-tossed taco shell stuffed with a classic marinara sauce, mouthwatering melted mozzarella cheese, and whichever fillings you choose from pepperoni to jalapenos.”
So what is this “new,” but not new offering? It is simply a slice of pizza rolled up to form the shape of a taco. Cute and tongue-in-cheek, but will it be effective? Quite possibly. Americans do love clever advertising campaigns.
There’s no indication whether Taco Bell will respond to the slight with their own marketing campaign. But if they do, customers can watch the drama play out over their Mexican Pizza that is now back on the menu. Or perhaps you prefer the newly dubbed Italian Taco.
No matter which direction the fast food marketing wind blows this story, there will only be one winner. And that is the parent company, which Food & Wine points out, owns both Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. That’s right. No matter which taco or pizza version you prefer, all the revenue goes to the same place.
It is quite an ingenious tactic. Most consumers typically don’t know who parent companies are. Or even that they exist.
Our loyalty is to the brand we can frequent. And, of course, one that provides delicious food offerings. And both Taco Bell and Pizza Hut have worked hard over the years to build and maintain loyal customer followings. The latter, in particular, has focused heavily on its marketing campaign.
Pizza Hut recently released news about updated menu offerings. Plus, they changed their decades-old tagline. Their new tagline is “no one out pizzas the hut.” While it’s not as catchy as the old one, the executive team seems happy with it so far.
With any luck, Taco Bell will choose to respond with its own marketing jab. You can’t beat a quality advertising war…even with the two ever-popular restaurants falling under the same corporate umbrella.
