Commentary

Think Outside The Swimsuit

Get your mind out of the gutter. This interactive campaign coincided with the launch of the 2008 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, yet this is the first time I've heard of it. Then again, I'm not the target audience.

Taco Bell partnered with SI swimsuit model Daniella Sarahyba and created a Web site, created by Draftfcb Orange County, that transforms visitors into virtual photographers on a photo shoot on Grand Cayman Island.

Amateur photographers first select one of three locations -- Governor's Beach, Rum Point or Smith's Cove -- to shoot the model. Next, the director chooses Daniella's activities to photograph: on Rum Point, that includes chatting with a parrot and checking out the pier.

Once the selections are made, shooting begins. Photographers have 100 pictures to take, either one at a time or in triplicate.

Moving your mouse controls the position of the camera, allowing for pictures from every angle. Pictures taken can be enlarged, downloaded and emailed to friends. Do you really want a picture of a parrot alongside a swimsuit model, or would you prefer to focus on the model's assets?

Taco Bell's Fiesta Platters is the only product remotely promoted on the Web site, via a link that brings users to a picture of a platter. There's also a clickable Taco Bell logo that brings eyeballs to another Web site filled with clickable levitating sauce packages that open another window leading to Taco Bell games.

The site was supported with three consecutive pages of ads in the swimsuit issue, online banners on SI.com, ESPN.com, MTV.com and VH1.com, and in-store via Taco Bell's sauce packets, marking the first time the packets carried promotional content.

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