Tom Rinks, creator of Psycho Chihuahua and founder of Sun Bum, describes pitching and developing creative campaign concepts directly with Taco Bell brand executives.
Assertion Contradicted
Tom Rinks: Taco Bell's first three Chihuahua commercials copied his submitted storyboards
“They tested that ad in the northeast, which has happened to be where I was in Michigan, and I just lost it, you know, because it was the commercial that I'd written. You know, the first three commercials were our commercials, like we had storyboarded and share…”
Opinion
Tom Rinks: High-end luxury retail is cheaper long-term than DTC
“If the Four Seasons is carrying it, I think a high-end retail is a Cheaper strategy long-term than trying to think about this D to C, but again, I'm not a D to C guy.”
What-if
Tom Rinks: We would have accepted a $200,000 settlement from Taco Bell
“If they would have offered us, they're gonna hate to hear this right now, but if they would have offered us 200,000, We'd have taken it.”
Insight
Tom Rinks: Consumer brands must maintain strict discipline around their distinct edge
“Be really disciplined on who the, what the brand is, right? If you look at Ben and Jerry's and the names of their products and the humor and the way they write, they went all in on that liquid death, all in on their edge. It's just so, I know who they are.”
Insight
Tom Rinks would build an uncool 'nerd sunscreen' if launching today
“If I was going to do it now, I would do something opposite of sunbomb. And so it'd be the opposite of cool. It would be like a nerd sunscreen or something.”
Insight
Tom Rinks: Creativity fails in business unless you can sell your ideas
“There's a, I think his name's Ogilvy. Ogilvy and Mathers, he's like the father of marketing, I believe. He said something like, you know, in the modern world, you could be as creative as you want, but unless you know how to sell, you're just not going to make …”