Taco Bell Bought the Liberty Bell—April Fool

The Liberty Bell was part of an elaborate April Fool’s Day hoax 21 years ago when Taco Bell officials said they bought the symbol of America’s freedom. The fast food chain claimed that the company’s name was changed to Taco Liberty Bell.   

The company placed full-page advertisements in seven leading U.S. newspapers on April 1, 1996, announcing the purchase. The newspaper story claimed that the company purchased the national icon to help reduce the country’s national debt.

Thousands of people overloaded national telephone lines when they called Taco Bell headquarters and the National Park Service to find out if the story was true. The curious callers realized they fell for an April Fool’s Day prank when recorded radio spots placed in major markets repeatedly disclosed the joke after 1p.m.

The Liberty Bell was commissioned in 1752 by the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. Pennsylvania owns the bell and the park service acts as a custodian and protector of the bell. It’s housed in the city’s Liberty Bell Center inside Independence National Historical Park. To learn more about the Liberty Bell, you can visit my previous blog post, Liberty Bell: Once Sold for Scrap Metal.

The April Fool’s hoax was a financial success for the fast food corporation. The campaign cost about $300,000.00 and generated an estimated $25 million worth of publicity, according to the David Paine Co. Now called Citizens Relations, the large advertising firm was hired to spearhead the hoax. Taco Bell claimed a $1 million jump in business during the first two days of the April joke.

“Entrepreneur Magazine” lists the hoax among the top 100 April Fool’s Day tricks of all time. And The Museum of Hoaxes, the source of a popular website since 1997, ranks it number four on its list of top April 1st gags. The museum has its headquarters in San Diego, CA. Historical deceptions dating from the Middle Ages up to the present are illustrated inside the museum.

Timing of the Taco Liberty Bell stunt helped make it successful. It was a time before false and deceptive information became a daily part of the internet. David Paine, founder and owner of the advertising company, often spoke about the success of the Taco Bell campaign. According to Paine, people trusted news that came from well-known, national advertisers such as the Taco Bell Co. during the time of the hoax.  Since then the internet has become a source of scams and false information. According to Paine, the influences and easy access to the internet make the public much more cynical. The number of people believing such a gag would be much smaller today.  

Interested in learning more about April Fool's Day? Check out my blog post: The Beginning of April Fool's Day.

Enjoy your April Fool's Day this weekend, and watch out for hoaxes!