Defeat the Dark Side

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Defeat the Dark Side was a unified advertising campaign for three restaurants owned by Tricon Global—KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell—that ran prior to and concurrent with the theatrical release of the 1999 prequel trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace. It depicted mascots from all three franchises involved in the events surrounding the Battle of Naboo. The campaign was reportedly viewed as unsuccessful by Tricon Global and Lucasfilm, and they did not partner for the subsequent prequel films.

Plot summary

In 32 BBY, the Battle of Naboo breaks out on the planet of Naboo.[2] KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell join forces to aid in the fight against the dark side.[1]

Development

The Defeat the Dark Side campaign included seven television spots,[1] toys and cup toppers available at the restaurants, a website,[3] and a limited-time sweepstakes game.[4] The sweepstakes game required visiting all three Tricon Global restaurants for a chance to win prizes such as a Lincoln Navigator vehicle, one million dollars, or a Star Wars hovercraft speeder.[5] During the sweepstakes, the restaurants were aligned to different planets: KFC with Naboo, Pizza Hut with Coruscant, and Taco Bell with Tatooine.[3]

Release and reception

According to Tricon Global's chairman and chief executive, Andrall Pearson, the tie-in marketing campaign was not effective at driving sales to the three restaurant chains and appeared to have stalled momentum from prior quarters.[6] The failure was attributed to the market's supersaturation, with Star Wars merchandise available at many retailers in advance of the film.[7] The campaign was reportedly considered a failure by Lucasfilm as well, and they did not partner with Tricon for the next prequel film.[8]

Credits

By type
Cast Uncredited cast Crew Uncredited crew Special thanks

Cast

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Premium-Era-real The Saga on defeatthedarkside.com (original page now obsolete)
  2. ↑ The New Essential Chronology
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Premium-Era-real Site Map on defeatthedarkside.com (original page now obsolete)
  4. ↑ Premium-Era-real Game on defeatthedarkside.com (original page now obsolete)
  5. ↑ Premium-Era-real Taco Bell/KFC/Pizza Hut Promotional Onslaught Begins on TheForce.net (May 11, 1999) (backup link archived on April 13, 2016)
  6. ↑ Premium-Era-real Force of 'Star Wars' Tie Not Aiding Taco Bell by Hernandez, Greg on the Los Angeles Times (July 21, 1999) (backup link)
  7. ↑ Premium-Era-real Tricon's 'Star Wars' Tie-In Fails to Boost Fast-Food Sales by Gibson, Richard on The Wall Street Journal (July 21, 1999) (backup link)
  8. ↑ Premium-Era-real Lucasfilm Splits with Tricon on TheForce.net (July 24, 2001) (backup link archived on March 27, 2021)
  9. ↑ Premium-Era-real Credits on www.leighhennessy.com (backup link archived on June 24, 2016)

External links