Taco Bell and McDonald’s are in a big-time breakfast battle. On March 28, Taco Bell introduced a new breakfast menu, hoping to compete with McDonald’s, a major fast food rival who also offers a breakfast menu.

Taco Bell decided to debut the breakfast menu as other chains successfully began to offer breakfast over the last few years, including Dunkin Donuts and Subway. Also, the restaurant breakfast industry is no small deal. It racked up huge revenues; in 2012 McDonald’s alone brought in around $10 billion from its breakfast selection, according to Technomic, a food research and consulting organization (www.technomic.com).

Taco Bell’s breakfast choices include the Waffle Taco, A.M. Crunchwrap, and Cinnabon Delights, to name a few. Some have considered those choices a stretch to the fast food chain’s traditional Tex-Mex style food.

Along with the breakfast menu rollout, Taco Bell also started airing promotional commercials, featuring numerous people whose actual names are “Ronald McDonald.” The commercials were meant to gimmick McDonald’s clown mascot. The men in the commercial even said, “I’m Ronald McDonald, and I love Taco Bell’s new breakfast” (youtube.com).

“We like to do things with a wink and smile,” said Brian Niccol, President of Taco Bell in a World News article. “We have a sense of humor.”

However, Taco Bell’s gimmick did not come without some backfire from McDonald’s. On Mar. 28, McDonald’s posted a picture on their Facebook page of their mascot petting a Chihuahua. A Chihuahua by the name of Gidget was the mascot of Taco Bell for several years (www.cnn.com).

So what do Monroe High students think about this intensified rivalry between Taco Bell and McDonald’s? Many here are in favor of the new menu.

“I think it’s pretty cool, although I haven’t tried Taco Bell’s breakfast yet” said junior Jessica Dehner.

With the ever-lasting competition in the food industry, there’s no doubt to many that these whimsical ads will continue.