Taco Bell Chihuahua

In 1997, ad agency TBWA\Chiat\Day launched a campaign for Taco Bell starring Gidget, a female chihuahua playing a male character. Her voice came from Carlos Alazraqui, who voiced Rocko on the cartoon Rocko's Modern Life; Alazraqui drew the voice from Peter Lorre, Ren Höek, and Anthony Quinn. The dog's catchphrase—"¡Yo quiero Taco Bell!" ("I want Taco Bell!")—became inescapable, spawning talking plush toys and additional one-liners like "Drop the chalupa!" and "Viva Gorditas!"

But the campaign drew fire. Latino advocacy groups protested ads showing the chihuahua in stereotypical costumes—a bandido with sombrero, a beret-wearing revolutionary—and civil-rights leader Mario Obledo called for a boycott. Whatever weighed more—the protests or the receipts—same-store sales fell 6% in the second quarter of 2000, and Taco Bell pulled the campaign that July.

The cancellation seemed final, but it opened another chapter: Michigan creators Thomas Rinks and Joseph Shields, who had pitched a chihuahua character to Taco Bell in 1996, sued for damages and prevailed in 2003 when a jury awarded them $30.1 million, plus nearly $12 million in interest. Gidget herself lived until July 21, 2009, when she died at age fifteen after a stroke.