The new Taco Bell commercial has a guy going into a Taco Bell and asking if Denise is working. He’s told she’s working but not on the counter. So he asks is she can come out and take his order.
Now I understand the point they’re making: the guy thinks the price he got was so good that Denise must have given him a special price.
But when I watch this ad, I think about how it would play in real life. If I worked in a Taco Bell and somebody specifically asked for Denise to take his order, my first instinct would be that he’s stalking her.
I’ve never worked in a fast food restaurant, but I suspect that, in real life, if Denise were assigned to the drive-through window or whatever, the cash register person is not going to be able to pull her away from her assignment to take one guy’s order.
Be that as it may. The way the commercial reads to me is that the guy is an idiot to think he’s getting a special price, and Denise is savvy enough to string him along.
That’s my take on it as well. the guy comes off as a little skeevy, but more duped and not-so-bright than stalkerish.
In real life I can see how it might be creepy for a random customer to ask for an employee by name like that, but since they all wear name tags it wouldn’t be too much cause for alarm. If a skeevy guy asked for “Denise” my first thought would be that he was hitting on her, not that he was stalking her.
There is something a little bit creepy about the guy at first. The way he’s looking around, tone of voice…something that makes my “ick meter” go off. But then he’s not at all creepy when talking to “Denise”, so that’s probably the way they wanted to play it.
The weird thing to me is that the first girl he speaks to looks very similar to Denise. You’d think they’d cast an actress who looks instantly different from “Denise.”
That was my impression too. Lately, they’ve cut it so that we start with Denise already talking to him and skip the creepy part. Denise is pretty hot, I must say.
Asking for an employee by name pings your stalker meter? Wow. In a real life situation my first thought would be that it’s a friend or maybe a relative.
I too am surprised that asking for someone by name (even if you look a little nervous and paranoid while you do it) is enough to give a “stalker” vibe.
I wonder if Taco Bell or other fast food places where employees wear name tags could be held responsible at all for this type of stalking? Requiring a name tag at least creates the situation, right? That is, if we assume that asking by name = stalkerish.
I have been paying more attention to this commercial since reading the OP to see if I could see what others do…and I am just not finding it there. I still see “skeevy” “idiocy” and possibly “douchey” but just not seeing the stalker-y.
Now the Geico commercial where the money pile with big eyes follows people around…that is stalkerish, but I have a hard time getting worked up about stalking by inanimate objects.
I also agree that to call this stalker-ish seems a bit rough. I guess I’m just not used to stalkers, but I know when I worked in fast food we had specific people who came in when they knew me and a few other people were working. If you stop and eat a value meal every night, but you notice it is only made well on 3-4 nights a week, you may find out why, and stop those nights. If it is because of a good employee, I don’t see any reason to be offended. I do live in a small town where the first question I ask is “Who is working tonight?” when I call a pizza place, because there are certain employees at each one who do wonderful, but I even know a few by voice because they have been there for years and I’ve been here for years.
Secondly, once I left the fast food world after college, I knew that if someone came in my work looking for me by name, I was doing good. Of course, I was in sales and collections at different times, so they were either there to buy something or pay me money and make my job easier. People still talk to my previous boss about how they “Haven’t got a good deal since I left” or whatnot when the new sales guy tries to sell them stuff. It may not be true, as I didn’t make many good deals, but I had to make sales so I talked them up like they were wonderful deals.
Also, when I worked for a chain restaurant, we had name tags, but the names smudged off often due to the grease. I assume writing them was a better option so that they could use them for new employees and were not out name tags, but half the people I talked to there couldn’t have read my name if they wanted to.
I have watched this commercial a few times and was struck by how stunning both actresses are. They are both gorgeous, and seem almost out of place in the ad.
Not the least bit stalkerish. He’s being furtive…there’s a difference. It’s how you act if you think you’re getting the Secret Hook-up Deal and you don’t want anybody else to know, or get in trouble.
My favorite part (in the original, long version) is how the non-Denise gives in and gets Denise. “Fine.”, through pursed lips. Love it.
