The commercial has some Hispanics incensed. Charges of insensitivity by the restaurant chain are flying. When I first saw the sales pitch by the sales pooch, I was in la-la land. I thought to myself what millions of other native speakers of Spanglish must have thought: que cute.
But after the second and third viewing, the ad began to yap at my heels, too. I wasn't sure why, however. Those who complained first sometimes offered lame explanations for their aggrievement. When a fellow from San Antonio asserted that Taco Bell's message was that it was OK to speak Spanish, but only if you're a dog, I concluded he was out to lunch. A Supreme Court justice once said he could not define obscenity, but that "I know it when I see it. Baseless charges of racism are too often used as a form of political coin in America to allow those making the charges to get by without having to provide evidence--especially in a nation both diverse and democratic that also happens to be the global bastion of capitalism.
No sooner had I gotten this far in my thinking when along came another commercial. Same ad campaign. Same fast-food restaurant chain.
Same mutt. This time, a voice is heard haranguing a crowd in English, in dictatorial fashion. The camera pans to Dinkie, the talking Chihuahua, who looks jaunty and smug in an insufferable canine-as-feline sort of way.
Dinkie then proceeds to mouth not something stirring, like "Viva la Revolucion! Made of corn dough, and usually stuffed with ground beef, lettuce, chili, tomatoes and cheese. After hearing Dinkie say "Viva Gorditas! Was I so enamored of populist Latin-American caudillos? Men of the Right or Left who ride white steeds? Gidget, a pound Hollywood dynamo in her prime, was propelled to stardom when Taco Bell's advertisments hit in the late s, featuring the feisty little dog as an insistent consumer of Taco Bell.
The phrase "Yo quiero Taco Bell" -- "I want Taco Bell" in a man's voice -- spawned a series of commercial catchphrases for the chain including "Drop the chalupa" and made its mark on pop culture with T-shirts as well as a line of dolls and toys.
The ad campaign even touched off a chihuahua frenzy with would-be dog owners suddenly becoming very interested in the Mexican breed. At the height of her popularity as the Taco Bell dog, Gidget traveled by limo and first-class in planes. She even got a seat on the company's private jet for a trip to Manhattan to open up the New York Stock Exchange. Sue Chipperton, who trained Gidget for Studio Animal Services, said the pooch was constantly mobbed by people when she took Gidget out even though she was careful to make sure very few people knew Gidget was the real Taco Bell dog.
But Gidget, who had lived with Chipperton for most of her life, was never coddled. Chipperton said she was expected to follow commands and was never carried when she could walk on her own. While the commercials were hugely popular, they eventually nabbed the ire of Hispanic watchdog groups which claimed Taco Bell was promoting stereotypes and demanded the commercials be taken off the air.
The commercials ended so abruptly, Internet rumors that Gidget had met an untimely demise abounded leading to her very own entry on the myth-busting Web site Snopes. Her owner, McElhatton, who owns Studio Animal Services which trains animals for film, television and adverstising, said Gidget -- unique for her "really huge ears" -- just knew when the camera was on her.
And she was very particular about who got her attention. Taco Bell issued a statement today saying, "We enjoyed working with Gidget and she will be missed by many. Our deepest sympathies go out to her owners and fans.
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