{"id":2673700,"date":"2023-05-23T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-23T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-1016567-4521551.cloudwaysapps.com\/plato-data\/how-taco-bell-turned-a-trademark-battle-into-a-marketing-campaign\/"},"modified":"2023-05-23T07:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-05-23T11:00:00","slug":"how-taco-bell-turned-a-trademark-battle-into-a-marketing-campaign","status":"publish","type":"station","link":"https:\/\/platodata.io\/plato-data\/how-taco-bell-turned-a-trademark-battle-into-a-marketing-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"How Taco Bell Turned A Trademark Battle Into A Marketing Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to HubSpot Marketing News! Tap in for campaign deep dives, the latest marketing industry news, and tried-and-true insights from HubSpot\u2019s media team.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Taco<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

In most cases, the pursuit of good vibes isn\u2019t enough to overturn a trademark \u2014 but Taco Bell is certainly trying.<\/p>\n

The popular fast-food chain set its sights on the term \u201cTaco Tuesday\u201d which it wants to use freely to promote sales<\/span> happiness among taco lovers. There\u2019s just one problem.<\/p>\n

Though the phrase is frequently used in conversation, it\u2019s actually a registered trademark owned by the Wyoming-based chain Taco John\u2019s and has been since 1989.<\/p>\n

\"Learn<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

On May 16, Taco Bell filed a petition<\/a> with the USPTO requesting the reversal of the trademark, claiming the term is too common and widely used for Taco John\u2019s to maintain the rights to it. Taco Bell claims the goal in this filing is to \u201cliberate\u201d the term for any and all restaurants to use freely.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the first time \u201cTaco Tuesday\u201d has been involved in trademark controversy.<\/p>\n

In 2019 Lebron James attempted to trademark the term but was turned down<\/a> by the PTO because it was too widely used. Naturally, James released a statement<\/a> supporting Taco Bell\u2019s efforts to overturn the trademark and is now starring in the company\u2019s latest ad.<\/p>\n

Through the company\u2019s statement<\/a>, the public petition<\/a> on change.org, and the partnership with James, the liberation of \u201cTaco Tuesday\u201d feels more like a marketing campaign than a legal pursuit.<\/p>\n

However, Taco John\u2019s isn\u2019t taking the challenge lying down. The company released a (hilariously petty) statement<\/a> in response to Taco Bell announcing a new Tuesday special offering two tacos for $2.<\/p>\n

In the statement, Taco John\u2019s CEO Jim Creel says, \u201cI\u2019d like to thank our worthy competitors at Taco Bell for reminding everyone that Taco Tuesday\u00ae is best celebrated at Taco John\u2019s\u00ae.\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019re anxiously awaiting the USPTO\u2019s response to this taco saga\u2026<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in Marketing<\/h2>\n

The latest marketing news and strategy insights.<\/em><\/p>\n

Twitter fingers:<\/strong> pew research released new insights<\/a> into how Twitter user behavior has changed since Elon Musk\u2019s acquisition of the platform.<\/p>\n

Meta<\/strong> just rolled out a performance-based ad revenue share model<\/a> to replace its Reels Play bonus program that sunset earlier this year.<\/p>\n

\u2026Also in Meta news:<\/strong> the company was just hit with a record $1.3 billion fine<\/a> for violating E.U. data privacy rules.<\/p>\n

Google<\/strong> announced plans to remove<\/a> inactive Gmail accounts beginning in December 2023.<\/p>\n

Telly<\/strong> introduces free TVs that feature a constant stream of ads<\/a> and track user data.<\/p>\n

The latest on AI: <\/strong>the HubSpot Marketing Blog just released the State of Generative AI<\/a>, featuring new data from over 1300 marketers.<\/p>\n

\"New<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n