2007 Superbowl Ads Review: Taco Bell Lions

What struck me immediately was how well the mouth movements laid on the mouths of the lions matched the words being said, without looking 'off' or 'fake'. I think the CGI staff did a great job with that aspect of the commercial.

The whole 'carne asada' / 'carlllllllne asada' thing could be annoying if it weren't so true to life in how some people anally correct the language and pronunciation of others. To see two lions, with easy access to some very obviously out-of-place campers and a bag of Taco Bell food being more focused on pronunciation than their easy meal, was very funny. Then again, in reality, it is generally the lionesses that do the hunting, so for the males to be sitting there talking rather than hunting worked on that level, as well.

What killed the ad was the mention of Ricardo Montalban. He is a great actor with a very smooth, sexy voice. But when the commercial broke away from the lions to show the new Steak Grilled Taquitos, the voice was not that of the very-much-alive-and kicking, still-working Ricardo Montalban. Instead it was a Montalban-esque voice. And that was a true shame. I really thought with the mention of his name and his sexy way of speaking that his would be the voice used in the commercial. It was only right. It would have fit perfectly. Instead, they used a voice with a similar style, but not nearly as smooth and sexy as his. At least they didn't make matters worse by getting an impersonator to try to fool the audience into thinking it was Mr. Montalban.

Since they did not use his voice, they should not have mentioned him at all as it only set up the viewer for disappointment. This is why they only get 3 out of 5 daisies. They had great potential but dropped the ball at the last minute.

Ifilms showcases Superbowl commercials on their website, and the Taco Bell Lions ad may be viewed there, along with all of the other Superbowl XLI commercials.