El Campaign Loco

Monday August 2, 2004 at 6:36 pm | Filed under General

Marketing is over the top. Sometimes way over the top. I can’t believe this is real, but I’m posting about it anyway. We went to lunch today and saw this ridiculous campaign at El Pollo Loco. Turns out they have a new spokeperson, and man I hope there aren’t TV commercials to go along with this. It’s some greasy bachelor lookin’ guy that has a big ole mullet and wears leather. There aren’t any pictures online yet, but I’m sure it’s just a matter of time. EPL’s official press release about the campaign describes this guy as,

    “A ‘spokes character’ that personifies the heart of the brand, El Caliente’s passion and flair for cooking El Pollo Loco’s juicy citrus-marinated, flame-grilled chicken is unrivaled. Women want to dine with him. Men want to grill like him.”

It goes on to say…

    “El Caliente behind the grill as flames respond to his every command. His massive grill is eight feet long and four feet deep, definitely not the cooking apparatus of an amateur. “El Caliente is nothing less than the spiritual leader of El Pollo Loco and its millions of male and female devotees,” said John Krueger, chief creative officer of Krueger. “Together, El Caliente and El Pollo Loco are the hot ones, tempting viewers to indulge their passion for the taste of El Pollo Loco.” El Pollo Loco’s new campaign also introduces a new tagline, “Taste the Fire,” which evokes a primal desire for its flame-grilled chicken”

There’s more… and I’ll leave you with this so you can be as confused as I am. At the bottom of the cutout is a message that says…

    “even if “El Caliente” isn’t in the kitchen, he promises that his “passion, devotion, and unusually expressive eyebrow are.”

As soon as I find a picture of this fool I’ll put it up!

UPDATE: I found a site that has a storyboard of on of the new TV spots!

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No Responses to “El Campaign Loco”

  1. Arlen Says:
    August 2nd, 2004 at 8:12 pm

    Sounds like they’ve adopted a stereotypical Mexican as their mascot. Have you ever seen these dudes get their grill on at the park on holidays? Out here at least they fit that description pretty close.

  2. holden mcgroyne Says:
    August 21st, 2004 at 6:06 pm

    Don’t be a hater. El Caliente is smooth, cool and dudalicious. I’d like a bite of his big burrito. I can just taste the fire!