Taco John’s abandons Taco Tuesday trademark, issues charity challenge

• Taco John’s on July 18 abandoned the United States Patent and Trademark Office registration for its servicemark “Taco Tuesday,” based on a press release. It had held the trademark since 1989 in every state except New Jersey.
• The QSR chain is pledging $100 per location in its system to the nonprofit Children of Restaurant Employees (CORE) and is asking on competitors to make the same donation to the organization. Taco John’s also called out LeBron James to donate his fees from Taco Bell’s recent Taco Tuesday-focused campaign to CORE.
• Taco Bell in May launched a “liberation effort” across the Taco Tuesday trademark, a campaign that included a web-based petition, Reddit Ask Me Anything discussion and a 30-second ad featuring James, who unsuccessfully attempted to trademark the phrase after sharing videos of his family’s taco nights on Instagram.

Taco John’s is popping Taco Bell’s effort to “liberate” the Taco Tuesday trademark back on the QSR giant with its latest effort. The chain, which is predicated in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and has greater than 300 locations across the Mountain West and Midwest, first responded to Taco Bell’s efforts in May, sarcastically thanking the industry leader for bringing attention to its brand.

This time around, Taco John’s is abandoning the trademark of a phrase — one widely utilized by other restaurants and consumers alike — and turning potentially negative attention right into a positive, purpose-driven effort. The brand can also be using the moment as a chance to punch up at a bigger competitor that had filed legal petitions to cancel the trademark registrations around Taco Tuesday.

“We’ve all the time prided ourselves on being the house of Taco Tuesday, but paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to lawyers to defend our mark just doesn’t feel like the correct thing to do,” said Taco John’s CEO Jim Creel, who’s scheduled to retire at the tip of this yr, in a press release. “Let’s see if our friends at Taco Bell are willing to ‘liberate’ themselves from their army of lawyers by giving back to restaurant families as an alternative.”

As a part of the trouble, Taco John’s is donating $40,000 to CORE, a nonprofit that supports restaurant employees with children by providing financial relief after a health crisis, injury, death or natural disaster. The $100-per-location formulation would cost Taco Bell about $720,000, or “lower than they’d should spend in a legal battle for the mark,” Creel said.

Taco Bell didn’t immediately reply to Marketing Dive’s request for comment regarding the trademark issue and charity challenge. This story will likely be updated pending a response.

Taco John’s also invited competitor chains Del Taco, Taco Bueno, Taco Cabana and Jack In The Box — which attempted to hitch the Taco Tuesday fray by trademarking the phrase “Taco Tuesnight” — to donate to the organization. By calling out those chains, mom-and-pop shops and LeBron James, who featured in Taco Bell’s 30-second “Taco Bleep” ad, the chain could boost attention and donations across social media.

Apart from its efforts across the Taco Tuesday trademark, Taco Bell has been busy this summer with a pair of nostalgia-fueled efforts. The chain in June partnered with Paris Hilton for the return of the 2000s fan favorite Volcano Menu and in July relaunched its Coin Drop game as a part of its mobile app. Yum Brands also announced that Taco Bell global chief brand and strategy officer Sean Tresvant will replace Mark King, who’s retiring, because the brand’s CEO on Jan. 1, 2024.