Pete Davidson’s BDE is a boon to his ever-evolving romantic entanglements, and apparently good for business, too. As CNN Business reports, Taco Bell’s attempt to make breakfast a thing for the brand has been a huge success — thanks largely to the former SNL star.
In October, the quasi-Mexican fast-food chain hired Davidson to promote the fact that, yes, Taco Bell serves breakfast, too. And it’s just the kind of greasy, cheese-filled slop that a stoner comedian can really sell the masses on. During a Wednesday earnings call for Yum Brands, Taco Bell’s parent company, it was announced that breakfast sales jumped an impressive nine percent in the fourth quarter of 2022 — clearly a direct response to Davidson’s spots. This helped the brand’s sales grow 14 percent last year.
Davidson’s role in the campaign was to “apologize” to Taco Bell customers for the chain’s tendency to overthink its early-morning offerings, which is a message that came directly from the company.
“We honestly over-innovated in breakfast,” Taco Bell’s chief brand officer, Sean Tresvant, told CNN in 2022. “When you look at today’s consumer and the [fast-food] breakfast business, it’s about familiarity and it’s about comfort.”
Yum Brands CEO David Gibbs seems excited about sticking with this simple breakfast menu and message for Taco Bell, and says that they’re making “encouraging progress” with this segment of the business. Whereas previously breakfast made up only six percent of Taco Bell’s total sales, the morning meal is responsible for 25 percent of McDonald’s earnings in a given year.
Now if only Taco Bell could make a commercial explaining Davidson’s appeal to women.
(Via CNN Business)