• AdAge , Wednesday, November 26, 2008 11 AM

You've got to cross-file this in your "Only in America" folder. Here's the basic scenario, as reported by Emily Bryson York:

Taco Bells sends an "open letter" to 50 Cent in July offering to donate $10,000 to the charity of his choice if he drives to one of their locations, raps an order, and changes his name -- for the day -- to 79, 89 or 99 Cent. But 50 Cent (once known as Curtis Jackson) nurtures his endorsements as carefully he does his don't-mess-with-me image. He sues, maintaining that the Taco Bell offer gave the appearance of his consent to the PR stunt.

Taco Bell, in papers filed in response to the suit, refers to 50 Cent as someone who uses his "colorful past to cultivate a public image of belligerence and arrogance" and maintains he has a "well-publicized track record of making threats, starting feuds and filing lawsuits." A reporter, led to the papers by 50 Cent's attorney, quotes from the response. He mischaracterizes the response as a countersuit, the attorney charges. Net result: more stories.

Is all this publicity good for Taco Bell? Most of the PR experts Bryson York talked to weigh in on the side of "no!"

"It's making them look desperate, making them look tired, making them look disconnected," says crisis consultant Robbie Vorhaus.

And to top it off, the mêlée hasn't even cracked the list of Top Rap Feuds at Starpulse.com .

Read the whole story at AdAge »