Taco Liberty Bell

Why it works

On April Fools' Day 1996, readers of The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer and other major papers found a full-page ad announcing that Taco Bell had bought the Liberty Bell 'in an effort to help the national debt' and would rename it the 'Taco Liberty Bell'. Thousands of people called the National Park Service and the chain before Taco Bell owned up at noon and pledged $50,000 for the bell's upkeep; the White House press secretary joked that the Lincoln Memorial would become the Lincoln Mercury Memorial. Some critics called it tasteless. It launched Taco Bell's 'Nothing Ordinary About It' campaign, and its PR firm said it played on unease about corporate naming rights. It is studied as the template for the brand April Fools' hoax: one print ad, a barely plausible premise, a fast reveal. The agency claimed coverage worth $25 million in advertising; The Inquirer later reported a sales rise of about $1 million over the next two days.