Taco Bell is known for taking big swings in its marketing—remember the iconic Chihuahua and the talking nacho fries? But behind every successful campaign are a dozen ideas that never made it past the drawing board. Some were too strange, some too risky, and others were just… ahead of their time (or way behind it). Over the years, Taco Bell has brainstormed dozens of potential mascots, from anthropomorphic menu items to outlandish sci-fi creatures, and while they didn’t always reach commercial airwaves, their legacy lives on in pitch decks and advertising lore. Here are the Top 10 Taco Bell Mascot Ideas That Never Took Off—but totally could’ve.
#1: Tex the Talking Taco
Before the Taco Bell Chihuahua became the brand’s breakout star in the late ‘90s, one pitch floated the idea of a wisecracking hard-shell taco named Tex. He was designed as a street-smart, animated mascot with a cowboy hat and a “crunchy attitude.” The concept was that Tex would break the fourth wall and speak directly to the viewer about how much better he was than any other taco in town. Early sketches showed him mid-somersault, flinging lettuce like confetti. Despite being colorful and cocky, focus groups thought Tex was too self-absorbed—and oddly unsettling when he bit into other tacos during test ads. The idea was scrapped, but elements of Tex’s sass lived on in later Taco Bell campaigns.
#2: Bellhop the Taco Bell Dog
No, not the Chihuahua—we’re talking about another dog character. Long before “Yo Quiero Taco Bell” became a pop culture phenomenon, Taco Bell toyed with using a St. Bernard wearing a bellhop uniform to represent customer service and speedy delivery. Named Bellhop, the dog would pull a mini cart filled with tacos and wag his tail when customers placed an order. It was cutesy and had strong mascot potential for kids’ toys, but the concept never clicked in a brand shifting toward edgy, teen-driven marketing. Bellhop was ultimately deemed too cuddly and not “cool” enough for the brand’s Gen X target demo of the time.
#3: Señor Salsa
An idea pitched during the early ’90s, Señor Salsa was an anthropomorphic jar of salsa with a thick accent, a wide-brimmed sombrero, and maracas. He would pop up in commercials during “salsa emergencies” to dramatically spice up bland meals. While some at Taco Bell thought he had the makings of a memorable mascot, others raised concerns about stereotypes and cultural insensitivity. With the brand seeking broader appeal and growing awareness around representation, Señor Salsa was quietly shelved before any footage was filmed. Still, the idea of a salsa-based hero lingered in later iterations of “bold flavor” campaigns.
#4: Cheesy the Melt Monster
In the early 2000s, Taco Bell explored more surreal, absurdist advertising and one idea involved a melted cheese monster named Cheesy. Made entirely of oozing cheddar and nacho sauce, Cheesy was meant to “ooze out of walls” to show up when things needed flavor. Part mascot, part creature feature, Cheesy tested terribly with parents, who said he was gross, and with kids, who thought he looked like a villain. The character was scrapped, but the concept of “cheese that can’t be stopped” morphed into later taglines and visuals, particularly around nacho fries and queso-loaded burritos.
#5: Crunchzilla
Imagine Godzilla—but made of tacos. That’s the basic premise of Crunchzilla, a 100-foot-tall taco kaiju that would rampage through cities, demolishing bland food establishments and roaring things like “CRRRRUNNCH!” while Taco Bell saved the day. The CGI-heavy campaign was planned in the mid-2000s and even had storyboard reels featuring epic battles between Crunchzilla and “Burgerbot 9000.” Ultimately, the budget was too high, and the concept veered too far into parody to land with the broader audience. Still, Crunchzilla remains one of the boldest rejected ideas in the Taco Bell vault.
#6: The Burrito Band
This animated musical trio of burritos—named Beefy, Beanie, and Spicy—were envisioned as a mariachi-style group that traveled from commercial to commercial playing songs about new menu items. Think The California Raisins meets Chipotle-pop. Though the idea was catchy and leaned into humor, it never reached full development. Internal marketing feedback suggested the band distracted from actual product messaging, and test audiences were confused about why food was singing instead of being eaten. The Burrito Band may have hit a sour note in execution, but the concept did inspire future musical ad campaigns.
#7: Space Bell Bots
During the height of the late ‘90s space craze, Taco Bell developed a futuristic campaign idea featuring robotic mascots from a planet called “Flavortron.” Each robot represented a menu category—T-3000 for Tacos, B-1R for Burritos, and so on. The ad storyboards included a giant “Flavor Beacon” transmitting spicy signals back to Earth. The Space Bell Bots were ambitious, with early 3D models built for potential toys and cross-promotion with sci-fi films. But the creative was deemed too expensive and too far removed from actual food. The Space Bots were grounded before launch—but they left their mark in the space-themed wrappers of the early 2000s.
#8: Guaco the Avocado
In an effort to spotlight their guacamole options, Taco Bell once developed a bright green avocado mascot named Guaco. He was shaped like an avocado pit with arms, glasses, and a laid-back surfer personality. Guaco would chill on a tortilla “beach” and throw out lines like “It’s all about that green, bro.” Designed to be relatable to millennial snackers, Guaco’s fate was sealed when internal branding teams felt the character wasn’t strong enough to headline a campaign. Avocado fans might be disappointed he never made it to commercials, but Guaco remains an underground legend in Taco Bell’s test files.
#9: The Chalupa Shaman
In the early 2000s, when Taco Bell was experimenting with mysterious “epic flavor” ads, one brainstorm session birthed the Chalupa Shaman—a mystical figure who appeared in a puff of smoke, offered people a bite of a chalupa, and then vanished into the wind. His staff was made of cinnamon twists, and his cape was a tortilla wrap. While delightfully weird, he didn’t test well with families, who found him confusing, and executives were concerned he’d be mistaken for a parody of cultural traditions. Still, the mystique of the idea stuck around, and the flavor-focused magic was folded into later surreal Taco Bell ads.
#10: Captain Quesarito
This superhero-themed mascot was pitched around the time Taco Bell was launching its Quesarito—half burrito, half quesadilla. Captain Quesarito wore a melted cheese cape, had guac-powered boots, and declared cheesy justice across the land. Intended to parody classic comic book tropes, the character came with animated mockups and even concept art for digital comics. However, marketers feared it would be too juvenile and distract from the real-life appeal of the Quesarito launch. Captain Quesarito was shelved, but his costume lives on somewhere deep in Taco Bell’s unused ad archives—waiting for a crossover event that never came.
Taco Bell has never been afraid to get weird—and these forgotten mascots are proof. From cheese monsters and taco superheroes to chill avocados and failed space bots, these characters reflect an era of bold experimentation and off-the-wall branding ideas. While they didn’t make it to national commercials, their concepts helped shape Taco Bell’s legacy of unpredictable, often hilarious, and always unique marketing. Sometimes the best ideas are the ones too weird to live—but too fun to forget.
