Taco Bell’s new campaign is taking Gen Z straight back to 2016. The chain’s newest Decades Menu resurrects discontinued 2016-era items—playing on the trend that 2016 was “the last good year of the internet.” The brand points to a 452% spike in “2016” TikTok searches and an 800% rise in 2016-themed Spotify playlists as proof young consumers are hungry for pre-algo nostalgia. The campaign commercial pairs the menu items with iconic Vine moments like “Look at all those chickens” while The Chainsmokers and Halsey’s “Closer” plays in the background. (Talk about peak 2016 nostalgia.) Taco Bell is also partnering with Divine (a new video app built around popular Vine clips), launching an in-app scavenger hunt, and collabing with Anti Social Social Club and Camp Snap on merch. This is not Taco Bell’s first nostalgia play: the brand released its first Decades Menu back in 2024, followed by a Y2K-inspired version last year. (Campaign)
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