If you think it's a stretch that Taco Bell is repurposing mid-day bang ballad "Afternoon Delight" as a metaphor for going to Taco Bell, you're really going to be shocked to hear this: That's almost exactly what inspired the song in the first place.
In the chain's new ad, we see co-workers, classmates and geriatric bingo competitors slipping off together to the tune of Starland Vocal Band's enduring 1976 classic. And despite all the furtive note-passing and conspiratorial up-nodding, we quickly learn they're just heading down to the local Taco Bell for a "Happier Hour" promo that runs from 2 to 5 p.m.
It's a cute ad and even features a cameo by 6-foot-tall America's Next Top Model contestant Laura Ellen James. But what's truly surprising is that the song actually was based on an afternoon food excursion.
According to band lore, singer Bill Danoff was amused by the fact that Clyde's restaurant in Georgetown featured a spicy happy hour menu called "Afternoon Delight," which he thought sounded like a metaphor for sex. (And thanks to him, it now totally is.)
So there's your odd fact for the day. I still don't recommend you refer to a Taco Bell visit as an "Afternoon Delight," though it sounds better than "Afternoon Grease-Beef Injection." Good luck inviting your supermodel classmate to that one.
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