In 1997 a small dog with big ears and bulging eyes turned up in a Taco Bell commercial and said four words that much of America would repeat for the next three years: “¡Yo quiero Taco Bell!” (“I want Taco Bell!”).
One ad becomes a campaign
The character was developed by Taco Bell’s agency, TBWA. In August 1997 Taco Bell ran a single ad with the dog in the Northeastern United States. It was supposed to be a one-off; it became a campaign that ran from 1997 to 2000.
The dog was played by Gidget, a female Chihuahua owned by an animal training company. She had been found at a kennel and wasn’t considered show quality; she had an undershot jaw and huge ears. The character’s voice was provided by actor Carlos Alazraqui. Other Chihuahuas had bit parts, but Gidget got the close-ups.
A pop-culture star
The Chihuahua became a phenomenon. The catchphrase turned up everywhere in conversation, and Gidget became a celebrity in her own right. According to her owners, she traveled first class, helped open the New York Stock Exchange and made an appearance at Madison Square Garden.
The criticism
Not everyone found the character charming. The Chihuahua is a breed commonly associated with Mexico, and the ads’ accent and imagery drew criticism as a stereotype of Mexicans. In 1998 a Latino civil rights leader, Mario Obledo, called for a boycott of Taco Bell if the company did not end the campaign.
Popular, but not profitable
The biggest problem turned out to be commercial. A beloved mascot doesn’t necessarily make people buy more tacos. In July 2000, after same-store sales fell 6% in the second quarter, the largest such decline in Taco Bell history at the time, the company ended the Chihuahua ads, ended its relationship with TBWA and replaced its president. Other reports said the dog was discontinued simply because, for all its popularity, it failed to lift revenue.
The lawsuit
The story had a costly epilogue. Two Michigan men said they had pitched the concept of a Chihuahua mascot to Taco Bell before the campaign. They sued, and in 2003 a jury awarded them $30.1 million, plus nearly $12 million in interest three months later. Taco Bell in turn sued TBWA, arguing the agency should have been aware of the conflict; in 2009 a federal appeals panel ruled against Taco Bell.
After Taco Bell
Gidget kept working. She appeared in a 2002 commercial for GEICO and played “Bruiser’s Mom” in the 2003 film Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde. She died on July 21, 2009, at age 15. “Our deepest sympathies go out to her owners and fans,” Taco Bell said.
Why “mixed”
The Taco Bell Chihuahua was one of the most recognizable ad characters of the late 1990s and made a catchphrase famous. But it faced sustained criticism as a stereotype, it ended amid falling sales, and it cost Taco Bell a large legal judgment. It is a standard example of the difference between an ad people love and an ad that sells.