Tie-Dyed Brain Rays: Feed The Beast

August 18, 2007

Feed The Beast

Have you seen the new Del Taco "Feed The Beast" commercial? Not only is it a saucy little knee-slapper in its own right, the fact that the beast looks like my buddy Dano completely slays me.

Okay... So physically, the Beast looks more like Wolverine and Dano's love child...

But Dano certainly embodies the essence of the Beast, including his ravenous hunger for tasty fast-food tacos.

Dano and I work together at the radio station. He's one of my favorite people and one of the more interesting specimens of Homo Sapien I've encountered on this planet. Dano is unique, and like the mythical unicorn, must live free and untamed by muggle conventions-- a fact not fully appreciated by the rest of our coworkers. I find Dano amusing in a comic sidekick/mad scientist sort of way and live in fear that he'll get a haircut, put on real shoes and a button-down shirt, find a girl and settle down to raise a pack of little Danites. While he might someday find that lifestyle satisfying, any changes that make him more acceptable to the rest of the world will no doubt make him less entertaining to me.

When I saw the new Del Taco commercial, I couldn't wait to get to work so I could show it to Dano. Since then, every time I walk past Dano's office I poke my head in the door and yell, "Forget that cougar, Man!" which I'm pretty sure stopped being amusing after the second time.

I contacted Del Taco's marketing department to see if there was a permanent link to the ad that I could use on my blog. Barbara at Del Taco headquarters was both surprised and delighted to hear of my interest in the ad, since there are no Del Tacos in Texas. I explained that my satellite TV service offers local channels out of L.A. where I saw the spot. She not only gave me permission to blog about the spot, she graciously sent me the video to embed on my blog. Barbara was intrigued by my tale of Dano's resemblance to the beast and eager to explain the concept behind the character.

She told me that "Feed The Beast," had been a slogan for Del Taco for a long time, but that the new commercial was the first time the Beast had actually been personified. "The Beast isn't exactly an inner voice," she said. "He's more of a proxy for our deepest desires." (Deepest desires, which in this case, include the consumption of large quantities of chicken soft tacos.)

Dang Baby, you didn't have to go all Freudian on me. You had me at, "taco."

Barbara told me that they were still trying to wrap their heads around how they wanted to use the character. "We haven't decided whether the Beast always remains the same or is different for each person," she explained. "And what if the person is a woman?"

I was all for a She-beast. I can imagine a very funny commercial in which the Beast and She-beast encourage a couple to abandon their date in a snooty restaurant for what they both really want, which of course is something yummy from Del Taco. As the couple walks out of Del Taco happily munching their tacos, the Beast turns to his female counterpart and says, "This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship!" Then, as if seeing each other for the first time, the beasts look each other over and let out a flirty, "RRROOOWL!"

(The implication of course, is that if you quit being phony and pretentious to impress a date and follow your down-to-earth deepest desires, you are less likely to go home alone.)

Barbara and I had an enjoyable conversation. I suggested a Beast look-a-like contest as a promotional idea. She asked for a link to my post so she could see Dano for herself. She said she would send Dano and me a couple of Del Taco T-shirts. Dano was as thrilled as I was at this news, considering he is a connoisseur of both T-shirts and tacos. So, while there are no Del Tacos in Texas, soon there will be Del Taco T-shirts in Texas.

Hey, it's a start!