Taco Bell ordered to pay Chihuahua $42 million

Posted Jan 27th 2009 10:15AM by Zac Bissonnette
Filed under: Law, Marketing and Advertising, Yum Brands (YUM)

Taco Bell parent company Yum Brands (NYSE: YUM) made a lot of money from the wildly popular "!Yo quiero Taco Bell!" commercials, but it turns out that they stiffed the creators of the ad campaign.

In 2003 a Michigan jury found that the company didn't pay Tom Rinks and Joe Shields, the creators of the dog. Taco Bell turned around and sued advertising agency TBWA Chiat/Day, charging that that company was responsible for the stiffing.

But on Friday the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's ruling holding Taco Bell responsible for the payments. Taco Bell is now on the hook for $42 million.

Given its market cap of $13.2 billion, the ruling is not material to the company's performance.

And even with the extra $42 million in expenses, the ad campaign certainly paid for itself many, many times over.

Tags: Chihuahua, inthenews, Taco Bell, TacoBell, YUM, YUM Brands, YumBrands