Old El Paso Prepares for ‘Taco Totality’ as Cinco de Mayo Lands on Taco Tuesday

Today, Tuesday the 5th of May 2026, is a very special date… For science, and spicy food lovers across the US. The stars have truly aligned. In a rare overlap, Cinco de Mayo has collided with Taco Tuesday.

Giving the moment the celebration it deserves is GM’s Tex-Mex food company, Old El Paso, which is encouraging fans online to enjoy the festivities by eating Old El Paso tacos. Created by agency MARTIN*, the social campaign started running at the end of April, preparing fans for the annual celebration of Mexican-American culture.

“We knew these days weren’t going to align for 11 more years, so the idea from the very beginning was to make sure this was the biggest day for Old El Paso tacos,” says MARTIN* copywriter Alyssa Mihalik, speaking with LBB. “We went down many different lanes to get here, but the insight that felt most ripe was that these two days had to have been cosmically aligned.”

The series of comedic social films, directed by Emma Debany via WW7, feature Randy Havens, known for his role as science teacher Scott Clarke in the Netflix series ‘Stranger Things’, as a mock scientist who breaks down the playful ‘science’ behind Taco Totality.

Obsessed with his wild experiments, he treats the event like a once-in-a-lifetime cosmic phenomenon, explaining what it means for taco lovers everywhere and the essential gear needed to fully experience it, like eclipse style accessories and plenty of Old El Paso tacos.

“Our brand is built on humour, so it only made sense to lean into that by creating this absurd moment of ‘Taco Totality’,” says Harrison Clark, senior brand manager for Old El Paso at General Mills. “Our talent, Randy Havens, was the perfect spokesperson. And we even found a way to include our cowboy spokesperson Elroy through props and even details on Randy's lab coat.”

Discussing the production’s design, MARTIN* art director Taylor Martin shares that the team leant into the educational imagery of a laboratory, combined with the absurdity of ‘taco science’. “We created a periodic table of taco ingredients, filled test tubes with toppings, and wrote math equations about finding the best angle to hold a taco,” she says.

“We approached it with the confidence that no one else can own this day except for Old El Paso,” she adds. “Then we made that true by putting Elroy, our singing cowboy, in a constellation as if this day had been written in the stars. The branded lab coat and set design helped make it feel like we had been studying this for years.”

The campaign also includes a dedicated microsite with a Taco Totality countdown clock, and, in the build, the brand also ran a giveaway for eclipse viewing kits inspired by the campaign. Designed for ‘the ultimate taco experience’, the merchandise included a stain resistant shirt, onion chopping safety glasses, and a neck pillow for better taco eating posture, all ‘scientifically engineered’ for peak taco enjoyment.

“Cinco de Mayo is one of the biggest days for tacos, and since OEP is a category leader, we wanted to show up in a way that drove talkability and distinctiveness for the brand,” says Harrison.

“Cinco de Mayo has always been a volume driving moment for the Mexican food category, but this year specifically gave us a unique opportunity given that it happened to fall on a Taco Tuesday. We leaned into that insight, and how consumers and popular culture talk about other ‘collisions’ to bring a fresh perspective to the Cinco de Mayo conversation.”

The agency used a social-forward approach to make ‘Taco Totality’ feel like a real astronomical event. “That meant building a full world with fake science and multiple entry points for people to jump in,” says Alyssa. “So, with every piece of content, we introduced a new way to prove the existence of Taco Totality. Then we flooded the feeds and created a sense of urgency around this once-in-a-lifetime astrological event.”

The biggest challenges was packing all the information into the six-second films. However, as Harrison explains, Old El Paso is no stranger to experimentation within the science of socials. “It’s role [in OEP’s marketing] just keeps growing,” he says.

“Social is a huge driver of discovery and consideration now, especially in food, where inspiration often comes from what people are seeing and sharing in the moment. So, it’s become a really important way for us to stay part of those everyday taco decisions and build brand love over time.”

So even once the Taco Totality has passed after Cinco de Mayo, audiences can be sure to find Old El Paso in their feeds again in the foreseeable future.