Taco Bell executives spotted an incredibly absurd marketing opportunity in 2001 when the Russian space agency announced they were going to de-orbit the massive, aging Mir Space Station.

A closer look

Taco Bell executives spotted an incredibly absurd marketing opportunity in 2001 when the Russian space agency announced they were going to de-orbit the massive, aging Mir Space Station. The fast-food chain constructed a massive 40-by-40-foot vinyl target painted with their logo, towed it out into the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and proudly announced a promotion. If a flaming, supersonic piece of the 130-ton disintegrating space station managed to hit their floating bullseye, every single person in the United States would get a free taco. The sheer hubris of gambling millions of dollars in free food on the unpredictable orbital mechanics of falling Soviet debris is peak corporate capitalism. Mir completely missed the target, burning up safely elsewhere in the ocean, meaning the corporation managed to generate massive global headlines without having to give away a single ounce of heavily processed beef