The Fries & the Furious: Taco Bell's New 'Trailer' Hits Small Screens

Deutsch’s latest faux movie trailer for Taco Bell’s Nacho Fries delivers some tasty high-octane cheese, spoofing buddy-action movies—mainly the Fast & Furious franchise—to trumpet the beloved menu item’s return.

Since their debut two years ago, Nacho Fries have come and gone. Each arrival generates a fake film-preview commercial. From the saucy thrills of “Web of Fries” and its sequel to the spacey sci-fi of “Retrieval” and the soulful stylings of “Chasing Gold,” the ads rival real movie trailers in scope and execution.

If major motion pictures were actually made about deep-fried potato sticks with Mexican spices and ooey-gooey cheese, well, you couldn’t do much better than the “coming attractions” depicted in these spots.

Now, “Supply & Demand” doesn’t disappoint, racing into the mix with adrenaline to spare, a worthy addition to the stylishly silly series:

Jeremy Saulnier, who’s directed some features (Hold the Dark, Green Room, Murder Party), as well as last year’s “Chasing Gold,” skillfully skewers Hollywood’s testosterone-infused action stylings. He serves up a piping hot order of parody that succeeds as both marketing and entertainment—with the buddy set-up working particularly well as a canvas for the fast-feeder’s frenetic foolishness.

“With each Nacho Fry campaign, we want people to question if these could be real films through casting, production level and scale,” Deutsch LA creative director Jeremiah Wassom tells Muse. “We’ve found the trailers that resonate best are ones that reference many different styles rather than anything too specific. This time around, the moment was right for a new genre: the buddy fry film, leaning into the desperate lengths people will go to get their hands on Nacho Fries.”

As it turns out, the spot’s lead actors—Jon Chaffin and Grant Harvey—went to intriguing lengths themselves in the name of realism.

“We actually dangled Grant off the roof of a 28-story building, and Jon skillfully handled a speedboat—and a supercar, as it hurtled toward a truck,” Wassom recalls.

Dudes merit seconds for such bodacious brand boosting. How about a sequel?

CREDITS

Taco Bell
SVP, Advertising & Brand Engagement: Tracee Larocca
Director of Advertising: Ashley Prollamante
Manager, Brand Experience: Michelle Prieve
Food Consultant: Carolyn Avelino

Deutsch
Chief Creative Officer, Los Angeles: Brett Craig
Creative Director: Jeremiah Wasson 
Design Director – Food: Eric Zunkley 
Associate Creative Director: Daniel Chen
Associate Creative Director: Mikey Sison
Art Director: Karter Krasselt
Copywriter: Ryan Siepert
Head of Production: Diego de la Maza
Executive Integrated Producer: Paul Roy
Integrated Producer: Judd Stricker  
Senior Music Supervisor: Chase Butters
Music Supervisor: Dez Davis
Executive Integrated Producer, Digital: Laura Tron
Senior Integrated Producer, Digital: Ariel Theraube
Associate Integrated Producer, Digital: Kemi Adeniji
Design Director: Jean-Lou Renoux
Designer: Sam Hiller
Group Account Director: Matt Matzen
Account Director: Kelly Childers
Account Supervisor: Tara Haglund
Account Executive: Kristen Engasser
Account Executive: Natalie Brock
Director of Integrated Business Affairs: Gabriela Farias
Executive Business Affairs Manager: Ken Rongey
Business Affairs Manager: Kevin Nickels
Director of Broadcast Traffic: Carie Bonillo
Executive Broadcast Traffic Manager: Courtney Tylka
Senior Broadcast Traffic Manager: Ana Barraza
EVP, Head of Strategy: Kelsey Hodgkin 
Associate Strategy Director: Rebecca Chein

Production – Live-Action
Neighbohood Watch
Director: Jeremy Saulnier 
Executive Producer: Richard Peete 
Executive Producer: Traci Carlson 
Producer: Elyciphus Siler

Production Service Company
Goodgate Productions / Panama City
Founder / Executive Producer: Philip Bolus 
Partner / Producer: Cristobal Sotomayor 
Head of Production: Bernardo Kenny

Editorial
Union Editorial
Editor: Jim Heygood
Assistant Editor: Joe Hughes
Executive Producer: Joe Ross

Post (Color/VFX/Finishing)
A52

Post Facility
A52
Lead Flame Artist: Jesse Mansour
Executive Producer: Patrick Nugent
Producer: Andrew Rosenberger

Producer: Jenny Bright
Colorist: Paul Yacono

Audio / Sound Design
Lime Studios 
Audio Mixer: Mark Meyuhas / Matt Miller
Assistant Mixer: TBD
Executive Producer: Susie Boyajan 

Music
Griz “Can’t Get Enough”
Plus original composition by Massive Music