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It's been a long time since the name "Pete Davidson" has been associated with anything other than famous women he's said to be dating. Every time he steps out with someone new, his name trends again. As much as people seem to dislike him, Pete is totally winning with all the ladies of Hollywood, and his list of seemingly amicable exes only continues to get longer by the week.
If Pete Davidson in everyone's feed for his relationships wasn't enough, now people are unhappy about him showing up for another reason: a new Taco Bell campaign. It's safe to say that Pete Davidson as Taco Bell's spokesperson is never going to be as beloved as any of its predecessors (the Chihuahua still gets most folks' votes), but what's all the fuss about?
People Aren't Happy About Pete Davidson Working With Taco Bell
Many were baffled as to why Taco Bell hired Pete Davidson for its "apology" commercials, but just as many didn't really care about the motivation behind it. Rather, they lamented the fact that the commercials even aired in the first place.
For many people just trying to watch TV or scroll Reddit, Pete Davidson and Taco Bell have taken over their feeds, and they're not thrilled about it. There are three main reasons for their discontent: first, it's Pete. Second, Taco Bell seems to have pulled out all the stops with its marketing efforts, plastering the commercial everywhere. And third, the commercial itself makes people cringe.
When the commercials first came out, people took to Reddit to complain in multiple comment threads. One person didn't understand the fuss and started a conversation about it, before realizing that Reddit has ads for a lot of people, and Pete stuffing his face was what the platform was pushing amid non-sponsored posts.
One commenter pointed out, "I’ve never seen an ad so much on Reddit in my life. Like this is on a whole different level." That conversation evolved into commenters offering tips on how to nix ads entirely on Reddit, not just the ones with Pete in them; some solutions included third-party apps and ad blockers.
Others picked up the subject of Pete and why it's so annoying to have him in their faces not just in Reddit ads, but also "probably 100 times watching college football" and while watching regular cable TV, not of the streaming variety. It's a full-on Davidson overdose, according to many.
Another commenter deadpanned, "people find Pete Davidson and Taco Bell repulsive individually and more so when combined together." The absolute worst part of the commercial for some people, even those who admitted to loving Pete and Taco Bell (each on their own), is that Pete was chewing while talking, with his mouth open.
Calling the commercial "gross af," various commenters complained about the way the commercial was filmed, too; zeroing in on Pete's "weird" face.
The whole thing was not executed well, Redditors agreed, and they hoped that the deluge of Pete Davidson x Taco Bell commercials would end soon.
Pete Davidson Did Help Taco Bell Boost Sales
Plenty of online commenters have complained about Pete Davidson ruining their day and their enjoyment of Taco Bell. Taco Bell itself may not care though.
It's said that Pete's appearing in the commercials has helped the restaurant break sales records for breakfast items—the very meal Pete's been promoting to customers.
CNN reported that Taco Bell's parent company (Yum Brands) attributed a nine percent jump in sales to Pete's commercial debut. Sales of breakfast burritos and egg quesadillas were what spiked in terms of the Pete-promoted items, but Taco Bell's US sales also increased by 14 percent, higher than analysts guessed they would.
It could be argued that Taco Bell's return to "familiarity" and "comfort" in its breakfast menu (the company was apologizing for 'over-innovating' breakfast) are what spurred the sales, but Pete is still getting the credit.
Given the company's success with the breakfast marketing campaign, it's possible people will be seeing more of Pete eating Taco Bell on their TVs, in their social media feeds, and on Reddit. At least, if sales don't keep up with what the brand is expecting.
How Much Did Taco Bell Pay Pete Davidson?
To date, no one seems to be able to pin down a figure for what the Pete Davidson Taco Bell commercials earned for their star. Pete is said to be worth about $8 million, but most of his earnings stem from his time on Saturday Night Live.
Since he departed the show in 2022, it's possible Pete was looking for more gigs to help pad his pockets, and Taco Bell gave him an offer he couldn't refuse. It's also possible he's spending his time having fun between different projects, including his recent film Meet Cute with Kaley Cuoco and 2023's Dumb Money and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
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