Taco Bell Teases Super Bowl Spot Featuring 87-Year-Old Thrill Seeker

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When you think of an 87-year-old man careening down a football field, taking out yardage signs and knocking over water coolers at high speeds on a mobility scooter, do any brands come to mind? If you guessed Taco Bell, you probably already "Live Mas." Taco Bell released a 60-second video earlier this week to tease its upcoming commercial spot in the Super Bowl that tries to capture the restaurant's "Live Mas" brand in a uniquely outrageous manner fit for such a colossal event for sport and brand advertising.

The expanding canvas that Super Bowl TV spots provide brands on social media and teaser content online is changing the dynamic of how ads and new campaigns are introduced. More than half of the U.S. population will tune their televisions to CBS on February 3 to watch the Super Bowl XLVII, but Taco Bell is leveraging that opportunity early with "Grandpa Goes Wild."

"We want our teaser to build excitement and anticipation for our Super Bowl spot, and we've started by sharing it among our 150,000 team members and our loyal followers in social media channels," noted Brian Niccol, chief marketing and innovation officer at Taco Bell. "We'll also show them the spot before it runs in the game. By engaging with and rewarding them first, we're providing them with the chance to build their social currency by being in the know and sharing the teaser and ad with their friends."

Taco Bell's TV commercial "Viva Young" will feature Bernie Goldblatt as the main character who takes his friends on an "unforgettable night depicting that anyone at any age can Live Mas," Niccol added. Set to the music of fun.'s "We Are Young" sung in Spanish, Taco Bell is aiming to connect the brand with some experiences that viewers share with their friends.

"Every day, our customers share these experiences with us, and we believe that they will be able to relate and see themselves in this ad," noted Niccol.

"An ad showing a bunch of millennials out for a night of fun is what people associate with Taco Bell, but what's compelling about that? The insight with "Viva Young" lies in shifting the characters to be an older group of men out on the town, having the same fun experiences as a group of 20-somethings would," he added.

Taco Bell will engage with consumers across its owned social channels and paid online search campaigns, noted Niccol. The Super Bowl spot and online teaser for Taco Bell was created by Deutsch LA. Taco Bell has almost 6,000 locations in the United States serving a cumulative 36 million customers a week. The company's last Super Bowl spot appeared in 2010.