‘Porque no los dos.’
Now you can’t tell me you didn’t immediately think of that little girl getting thrown in the air raving about soft- and hard-shell tacos. But why do we remember this ad? I’ll tell you why this advertisement has become such a hit through Jennifer Lonoff Schiff’s 7 steps to creating a successful integrated marketing campaign.
The Old El Paso advertisement first aired in 2007 becoming a viral sensation whilst becoming a common trigger in households influencing the purchase behaviour of tacos.
Through, Schiff’s’ model we can analyse how it has happened, first through Old El Paso clearly identifying their target audience and, finding the needs and wants of the consumer then serving that to them. This was successfully achieved through appealing to both children and adults, this is essentially catering to the average Australian family who can’t decide what they want for dinner. Although the advertisement is centred around deciding between soft- and hard-shell tacos, Old El Paso was not only able to fulfil this want of having both options, it also instilled in the consumers mind that the key to a happy dinner is their product.
Using the second step in Schiff’s model Old El Paso needed to ‘Pick their Channels’. They knew their audience was families, so they needed to decide which channels would be appropriate to broadcast their marketing message. As the advertisement was produced in 2007, Old El Paso decided to use television as their marketing channel as this was the most used media platform for consumers of this time period. The commercial aired typically between 4pm and 7pm just prior to dinner, in an attempt to encourage purchase behaviour.
The third step within the process is ensuring that your brand maintains a consistent visual identity. Old El Paso continued with ‘Porque no los do’ advertisement for a decade following, due to brand awareness gained from the iconic quote constantly being aired.
Next, Old El Paso needed to utilise the fourth step in the process which is to create a clear message which could be adapted or repurposed to suit other media outlets. Due to the era, social media wasn’t as dominant in the marketing of products, so instead Old El Paso decided to cut the advertisement from its original 30 seconds down to 15 seconds. This not only allowed for cost reductions it also meant the advertisement was more direct as it got to the point faster.
For this advertisement to be successful it must be integrated and encourage the consumers purchase behaviour of Old El Paso products, specifically the hard and soft taco dinner kit and accompanying sauces.
Schiff then recommends that for a brand to be successful within advertising, marketing teams must work collaboratively to produce the advertisement. Although it is difficult to gauge whether or not Old El Paso is fulfilling this step, due to its success we can assume they are doing so.Financial reports have shown an increase in the brands sales, going up in revenue by 6% in the first year after the advertisement’s release, whilst continuing to grow for some years after.
Nick's Digital Marketing Blog 