Taco Liberty Bell

The Taco Liberty Bell was an April Fool's Day joke played by fast food restaurant chain Taco Bell. On April 1, 1996, Taco Bell took out a full-page advertisement in seven leading U.S. newspapers announcing that they had purchased the Liberty Bell to "reduce the country's debt" and renamed it the "Taco Liberty Bell". Thousands of people protested before it was revealed at noon April 1 that the sale was a hoax.White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry responded that the federal government was also "selling the Lincoln Memorial to Ford Motor Co. and renaming it the Lincoln-Mercury Memorial."

Influence

The prank was considered a successful advertising gambit by those involved. David Paine, Founder of PainePR, the public relations agency that executed the campaign, called it "the most successful project I've been involved with". The campaign cost was just $300,000, but it generated an estimated $25 million equivalent in free publicity, with a sales increase exceeding $1 million for the first two days in April. Paine, however, feels that the climate today is much more cautious and a comparable prank is not possible.

The stunt has also been listed as one of the top hoaxes or marketing...
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