Old El Paso turns a taco crunch into a global rallying cry
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
Old El Paso has launched 'The Crunch is Calling', a VCCP Blue campaign in which the sound of a crunching taco pulls people back to the family dinner table — a distinctive-sound brand platform rolling out across 24 markets.
What launched
General Mills' Old El Paso unveiled 'The Crunch is Calling', a 30-second brand film created by VCCP Blue (its international agency of record since 2022) with content studio Girl&Bear and directed by J Marlow through Outsider. In it, the sound of a taco crunch draws people away from work and chores back to a shared meal.
It runs across TV, social, digital, online video, OOH, DOOH and in-store in 24 countries spanning Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Caribbean, on the theme of Mexican food bringing people together.
The power of a distinctive sound
The smart move is building the platform around an ownable audio cue — the crunch. Distinctive sensory assets are among the most valuable a brand can own, cutting through cluttered feeds and travelling across languages without translation.
For a global brand launching in 24 markets at once, a sound is a gift: it works whether the viewer speaks English, French or Tagalog, giving the campaign a single unifying device across wildly different audiences.
Connection over convenience
The 'come back to the table' message taps a broader cultural mood, with brands increasingly selling togetherness rather than pure convenience. In a distracted, always-on world, the dinner table is potent emotional territory.
It's a considered position for a meal-kit brand: Old El Paso isn't selling tortillas so much as the occasion they enable — a reframe that lifts a functional product into something people feel warmly about.
Our read for marketers
The transferable lesson is to invest in distinctive assets that travel — a sound, a device, a visual signature — especially if you operate across markets. They compound in value every time you use them and sidestep the translation tax.
And consider what emotional territory your category can credibly own. Old El Paso claiming 'connection' works because food and family genuinely belong together; the association has to be earned, not asserted.
Quick FAQ
What is Old El Paso's 'The Crunch is Calling' campaign?
A 30-second brand film by VCCP Blue with Girl&Bear, in which the sound of a crunching taco draws people back to the family dinner table. It runs across 24 markets and multiple channels.
Who made the Old El Paso campaign?
VCCP Blue, Old El Paso's international agency of record since 2022, with content studio Girl&Bear and director J Marlow through Outsider.
Why build a campaign around a sound?
Distinctive audio cues cut through cluttered feeds and travel across languages without translation — invaluable for a global brand launching in 24 markets at once.
— Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
Invest in distinctive assets that travel across markets — a sound, device or signature compounds in value and sidesteps the translation tax.
What distinctive asset does your brand own that would work with the sound off — or in another language?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: Decision Marketing, MarComm News.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
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