A new legion of “Super Friends” are here, in the form of the Super Delicious Ingredient Force. SDIF is a part of a new social media CRM program for Taco Bell, marking the first time the quick-service restaurant chain is creating online original episodic content for the Web.
For anyone who grew up in the early 70s to the mid-80s and wants a quick shot of nostalgia, go to www.sdif.com. Draft FCB, which handled the creative, has managed to throw us back to an era now gone some 30 years, with a series of short-form webisodes. With Facebook and Twitter applications, it works—though, admittedly, I may be biased as I hold close the memories of Superman, Batman and Robin, Wonder Woman, The Green Lantern meeting in the Hall of Justice.
Here, they’ve been replaced with Commander Seasoned Beef, Chicken Woman, Flex Tortilla, Crunch Boy. The Fortress of Flavor serves as the headquarters for these “defender of taste buds.” They are tasked with fending off such villains as the Cruddy Combo Clan.
I was interested to learn that the program is at least five years in the making—and was originally intended for radio. It’s partly the brainchild of Burk Wasserman, VP and associate creative director at Draft FCB in Chicago, whose affection for his childhood heroes is not lost. Apparently, they also partnered with illustrator and artist Neal Adams (who modernized Batman in the 1970s), who has also participated in the writing and development. For the client, Wasserman said his group wanted to utilize Taco Bell’s flavors, so the catalyst was to make the ingredients the super heroes.
Hmm…Halloween?
