The Logo Story of

TACO BELLAmanda BankowskiGraphic Design 2

September 24, 2010

Taco Bell Dog

• World War II Veteran opened Bell’s Drive In 1946

• Bell was 23 years old • Hot Dog stand in San

Bernardino, California – One person stand

serving only take out food

– Made $20 over 16 hr period on his first day

• 1952 Bell’s Drive In sold hamburgers and hot dogs

• SAME TIME MCDONALD Brothers were building their first restaurant!

GLEN BELL

• Sold tacos in Mexican neighborhoods– If they were a success

competitors would think it was because of location

• Created Traditional Taco sauce

• Tacos sold for 19 cents from a window on the side

• 2nd stand – Barstow, CA - 1953

WILL TACOS WORK?

• Constructed 3 new taco Tia stands– San Bernadino – Redlands– Riverside – $18,000 in sales in first

month

• Small commissary built to serve 3 Taco Tias and Bell’s Drive Ins – Vegetables, sauces,

and deep taco shells prepared daily

– Meat was cooked at individual restaurants

TACO TIA

• 1956 sold 3 Taco Tias • Los Angeles restaurant

market and partnered with 4 member of Los Angeles rams Football team

• 1958 formed el taco restraurant chain with central commissary to serve up to 100 units – three outlets were initially opened, producing profits of $3000 after the first year of business

MORE…MORE…MORE!

• First Taco Bell in 1962

• Doney – 8 more in:– Long beach– Paramount– Los Angeles

• 1964 First Taco Bell Franchise was purchased

• 1965 Taco Bell opened on the Pacific stock exchange

CREATION OF TACO BELL

• Pizza hut a PepsiCo subsidiary, launched Taco Kid and failed in February 1978

• Taco Bell purchased by for just under $125 million in stock

• PepsiCo wanted Taco Bell to be a national fast food

• Strategy – predictable quality– affordable prices– clean and convenient surroundings

CORPORTAION TAKEOVER

• PepsiCo redesigned the logo - 1985

• Hispanic man dozing under a giant sombrero

• Sparkling bell above the company name

NEW OWNER – NEW DESIGN

• 1995 was the last redesign – current logo

• 1993 “Demolition Man” featured a pink and purple "future" logo

• Taco Bell took advantage of it

• Changed the style as well as the color – only logo color scheme change in their company history

DESIGN INSPIRATION

• 1985 stressed that Taco Bell had same ingredients as burger rivals:– Beef– Cheese – Tomatoes– Tag line – just made for

you• Different and according to

the company more satisfying way

• 1986 New outlets had a different style

• Traditional - arched windows and red-tile roofs

• Added - stucco, skylight inside, silk plants, light colored wood – new dishes,

• Drive through windows as a standard feature

THE SAME BUT BETTER

• 1986 - Expanded overseas• 1988 –widespread pricing and

production changes– Lower price of items on the

menu – Rival hamburger chains to

follow suit• Less labor and space and

more focus on customers• Food preparation contracted

out– Dicing– slicing of vegetables– frying of taco shells

EXPANSION

• 1991 - 3 tiered Value Menu– 50 cents– 79 cents– 99 cents

• 1992 - 11 international locations

• Taco Bell Express – Limited menu – Little or no seating

• 1993 - Taco Bell products on supermarkets shelves

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 90s

• Taco Bell Chihuahua ear 1997 – 2000

• Most notable advertisement was the Taco Bell Chihuahua

• People loved to quote him but not enough to buy tacos

• The Taco Bell Chihuahua was a failure

• Sales slipped• 2000 – Retired the

Chihuahua and marketed one demographic

YO QUIERO TACO BELL

THE END