CHEYENNE , WY (April 24 , 2007) – Taco John's has enlisted its favorite spokesmonkey to promote the restaurant chain's latest featured burritos – the Steak & Potato Burrito and the Steak & Rice Burrito.
In-store advertising for this promotion puts the burritos in a head-to-head match with a headline announcing the "Steak Burrito Showdown , " tempting customers to try both and return for their favorite.
The Steak & Potato Burrito is a soft flour tortilla wrapped around marinated grilled steak , lots of crispy Potato Olés ® , nacho cheese sauce , sour cream , tomatoes and lettuce. Taco John's also offers the Steak & Rice Burrito , giving customers the choice to have Mexican Rice in their burrito in place of Potato Olés ® .
In 2006 Taco John's began offering steak as part of its protein offerings. They've never looked back. The Taco John's menu is well known for having boldly seasoned flavor profiles and hearty portions. The company saw the steak addition as a very natural extension and complement to the West-Mex ® offerings already on the menu. Since its introduction , steak menu item sales have increased and the product development team has used steak to find more ways to delight customers.
"Burritos have always been a top-selling menu offering at Taco John's. Once we added steak to our lineup we knew that customers would appreciate the variety of options , " said Brian Dixon , vice president of marketing at Taco John's. "We're proud to serve Steak burritos that combine some of our most popular and tasty menu items – Potato Olés ® and Mexican Rice."
Television and radio spots also support the campaign. Whiplash the Cowboy Monkey is back for his fourth year as the spokesmonkey for Taco John's and is seen in the latest TV spot getting a much-needed haircut after a long promotional tour for the Steak Burritos. Accompanied by a Taco John's employee , Whiplash is seated in the barber's chair waiting patiently for his haircut. After hearing what the two have been doing out on the "campaign trail" to share news about the steak burritos , the barber is shocked to see Whiplash is hiding an out-of-control hairdo under his sombrero.
"Taco John's provides us with exciting stories to tell about their menu – then it's our job to keep the story fresh and memorable , " said Chris Preston , executive creative director at Kerker , the advertising agency for Taco John's. "Our brand icon Whiplash always comes through and this time is no different with his overdue barber shop visit and apparent need for some extreme monkey grooming."
The Steak Burrito campaign runs May 7 – July 8 , 2007. To view the TV spot "Barber" during the campaign visit tacojohns.com .
About Taco John's
Taco John's operates and franchises over 425 quick-service restaurants in 25 states. Independently owned and operated , the business opened its first restaurant in 1969. Taco John's prides itself on serving generous portions , menu items prepared fresh to your order , high quality ingredients , and special West-Mex ® recipes , seasonings and sauces. Through the end of 2006 , Taco John's achieved 11 consecutive years of same store sales increases.
About Kerker
Kerker is a full-service agency providing advertising, public relations, direct marketing and promotion, interactive, design and research for a broad range of local, national and global clients. Kerker clients include Taco John's, 3M, Johnsonville Sausage , Minnesota Zoo, Piper Jaffray, Pure Fishing, Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P., United Sugars, Roundy's Supermarkets, Bremer Financial Corp., Mall of America and the YMCA.
Taco John's prides itself on serving generous portions, menu items prepared fresh to your order, high quality ingredients and unapologetically original recipes, seasonings and sauces.