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Taco Bell Nacho Fries are back and caught in a time loopTaco Bell Nacho Fries are back and caught in a time loop

This year’s crowd-sourced faux movie trailer borrows from “Groundhog Day” and “Palm Springs”

Lisa Jennings, Executive Editor

March 8, 2022

2 Min Read
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It’s 2018 and Taco Bell launched Nacho Fries for the first time — what will become its best-selling limited-time offer ever — and the chain will sell 53 million orders in first five weeks.

Actually, no. Though that was true in 2018, when Taco Bell really first launched the spice-dusted Nacho Fries. We’re just stuck in a time loop, in the style of the movies “Groundhog Day” or “Palm Springs.”

It’s true that Nacho Fries are back, starting March 10. As is tradition for the Irvine, Calif.-based chain, Nacho Fries are being promoted with a faux movie trailer. This year, Taco Bell crowd-sourced ideas for the trailer on Twitter via the hashtag #FriesChallenge, which prompted the time loop story line.

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Dubbed “Fry Again” and produced in partnership with Deutsch LA, this year’s trailer teases the story of Vanessa, a Taco Bell fan who is stuck in a time loop. Happily, she gets to enjoy Nacho Fries every day — though a “Terminator”-like villain appears to be after her.

Fans also helped write the script, selecting details like the type of car Vanessa would be driving to her outfit and the name of her dog (“Baja).

“We’ve explored tons of genres for Nacho Fries over the years, but this may be my favorite yet because it gave our most loyal fans a front row seat to co-create one of our biggest fan-led campaigns every,” said Tracee Larocca, head of brand creative for Taco Bell, in a statement.

 

Rewards members have the chance to snag the “first dip”— because the fries are served with cheesy sauce — via the app March 8-9, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. And Rewards members can also score free a la carte fries (with a minimum $1 purchase) from March 24-26; and Grubhub will offer the Nacho Fries free (with minimum $15 purchase) March 27-April 13.

The fries are priced at a recommended $1.49, or in a Nacho Fries Box for $5.49, which includes the fries, a beefy five-layer burrito, a crunchy taco and a medium drink.

Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected]

Follow her on Twitter: @livetodineout

About the Author

Lisa Jennings

Executive Editor, Nation's Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality

Lisa Jennings is executive editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality. She joined the NRN staff as West Coast editor in 2004 as a veteran journalist. Before joining NRN, she spent 11 years at The Commercial Appeal, the daily newspaper in Memphis, Tenn., most recently as editor of the Food and Health & Wellness sections. Prior experience includes staff reporting for the Washington Business Journal and United Press International.

Lisa’s areas of expertise include coverage of both large public restaurant chains and small independents, the regulatory and legal landscapes impacting the industry overall, as well as helping operators find solutions to run their business better.

Lisa Jennings’ experience:

Executive editor, NRN (March 2020 to present)

Executive editor, Restaurant Hospitality (January 2018 to present)

Senior editor, NRN (September 2004 to March 2020)

Reporter/editor, The Commercial Appeal (1990-2001)

Reporter, Washington Business Journal (1985-1987)

Contact Lisa Jennings at:

[email protected]

@livetodineout

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-jennings-83202510/

 

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