Sox May Have Won the Series, but Taco Bell, Chevy and Jordan’s Furniture Score Big
Could very well be that Red Sox rookie Jacoby Ellsbury will be best remembered as the player responsible for giving Americans a free taco in the
2007 World Series as a result of stealing second base in the bottom of the fourth inning in the series’ second game.
Taco Bell’s “Steal a Base, Steal a Taco.” promotion was obviously successful. Unless you were under a rock or completely avoided watching the games, you couldn’t have missed the chatter about the promotion. It got plugs from TV anchors and sports figures; a live interview with Rob Savage, chief operating officer of Taco Bell and a promo from a player in a “candid” conversation between Sox shortstop Clayton and Ellsbury the evening before the big steal. If you think about it…all this hype over a stolen base and free taco? Pretty much a sure bet (the stolen base) given that there has been at least one stolen base in every World Series matchup since 1990. And I guess from Taco Bell’s perspective it was a pretty good financial bet as well. Ad Age quoted this: “Advertising buy: $5.6 million. Potential giveaway cost: under $1 million. Publicity value: priceless.”
Remember…you can get your free taco at any of the 5,800 Taco Bell locations on Tuesday between 2pm and 5pm.
I thought the Chevy twist was interesting. Instead of the typical “brought to you by” announcements, it appeared as if they placed a logo for the Malibu sedan on a sign held up by a fan in the stands. From what I read, it sounds like they gathered a group of 50 fans in Fenway a few days before and simulated a game-like situation and then replaced the shot when the camera then appears to zero in live on the excited fan as the announcer reads the standard sponsor message.
But the fans that made out like bandits were those who took Elliot Tatelman of Boston based Jordan’s Furniture (who is a BIG Red Sox fan) up on his special “Monster Deal” promotion where specific furniture purchased in March and April would be free IF the Sox won. And win they did. So now some 30,000 Jordan customers not only get to celebrate the Sox win, but get to reap the benefits…big time. Tatelman is obviously a big Sox fan, but luckily he had insurance in place to cover the $20+ million in rebate checks that will start going out soon.
This post was written by: Kim Mickelsen