There is no doubt about it, monster movies are awesome and there’s a good reason for their appeal. Not only are they generally a genre of their own, but they frequently incorporate elements of other genres as well, typically sci-fi or horror in an effort to tell a story with major themes about humanity and real-world concerns into something that is tangible and epic. They also come in a lot of different forms, like the always iconic Universal monsters or some of the more classic “creature” movies. However, when it comes to the true king of monster movies, that mantle belongs firmly with Godzilla. The kaiju has been an entertainment powerhouse since he first roared to life in 1954, but there’s one epic, 1990s take on ‘zilla that is available to stream for free this month on Tubi — and the promo around it might even be more iconic than the film itself.
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Currently available to stream on Tubi is 1998’s Godzilla. The film was directed by Rolan Emmerich, who co-wrote the project along with Dean Devilin and the film was a reboot of the iconic Toho Godzilla franchise. Starring Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Maria Pitillo, Hank Azaria, Kevin Dunn, Michael Lerner, and Harry Shearer, the film followed a group of people in New York as they tried to investigate and track down Godzilla after the kaiju emerged from the ocean and decides the Big Apple is the perfect place to nest its young. However, while the film was meant to kickstart a franchise, it was a box office disappointment and was widely panned by critics, despite an aggressive and iconic marketing campaign that involved some Taco Bell ads more iconic than the movie.
Godzilla’s Taco Bell Adds Still have ‘90s Kids Saying “Here Lizard, Lizard, Lizard”
A major blockbuster having a massive promotional campaign isn’t exactly revolutionary. Even today, we see expansive marketing for major movies, complete with catch ads, interesting tie-ins, and more. But Godzilla was on another level, even for 1990s standards where it was pretty common to see major marketing pushes. Godzilla was everywhere in 1998. There as a tie-in ice cream with Edy’s — Godzilla Vanilla with Chocolate Godzilla Chips and Fudge (and I can confirm, it was delicious). There were Godzilla flashlights that you could get free for buying Duracell batteries and the VHS (sadly I never acquired this), but the standout by far might have been the Taco Bell commercials and those are what pretty much an entire generation of fans remember more than the movie itself.
As promo for the movie, Taco Bell ran four ads. Three were pretty similar to one another, some variation of the Taco Bell chihuahua trying to lure Godzilla (the “lizard”) into a cardboard box trap with an offer or free tacos. Of course, the pup quickly learned that he’d need a bigger box. The fourth commercial differed in that the chihuahua had actually seemingly befriended Godzilla and was riding him through the drive-thru ordering a ridiculous amount of food — including the then-new menu item, the gordita. There were also collectible cups and a prize giveaway, but those commercials were what would have been considered viral in the 1990s. I couldn’t tell you a single thing that happened in the 1998 Godzilla movie, but I can vividly remember those ads. Fortunately, with Godzilla streaming for free on Tubi this month, I can revisit the film — right after I get some tacos.
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