History cannot be changed, as it is in the past. However, it can and has been recreated. Many movies are based on historical events, televison shows use historical quotes, even iconic historical photos are some of the most famous pictures that live today. In the Taco Bell Routine Republic commercial, Taco Bell recreates the Cold War and the divide in Germany. The East Germany communists are portrayed as McDonalds, and the democratic West Germany is meant to be Taco Bell. Taco Bell applies historical references, symbolism of McDonalds, and a contrast between dark and bright colors in their Routine Republic ad to make consumers feel that rival McDonalds is evil and out of date, and Taco Bell is for the young and new generation. 

In 1949, the country of Germany split into East and West Germany. East Germany was controlled by the communist Soviet Union, and West Germany was controlled by democratic nations. Berlin, the capital of Germany, was also divided between East and West Germany. In 1961, East Germany created a wall surrounding East Berlin to stop people from going to West Berlin. Known as the Berlin Wall, this structure had two concrete walls equipped with barbed wire fencing, watchtowers, guards, and the "death strip." This area between the two walls was where hundreds of people attempting to escape were shot and killed. In the Taco Bell Routine Republic commercial, all of these things can be seen within the ad. For example, there were numerous guards protecting the city to make sure that the people got breakfast sandwiches from them. There were also watchtowers that the guards were in, just like in East Germany. Towards the end of the commercial, the Berlin Wall and death strip are also portrayed. The man and woman have to jump between two concrete walls into a ball pit, then climb through a hole to escape from the Routine Republic. The walls in the ad are meant to be the Berlin Wall, and the middle area with the balls represents the death strip inside the Berlin Wall. This shows the viewer watching that McDonalds is like East Germany, trying to control everyone and not let them have any freedom. The idea of communism in East Germany is also present in the commercial. The girl on the intercom talking in the Routine Republic ad emphasizes that happiness is the same, and that anything different than the norm is bad. The purpose of communism is to make all citizens the same, with no social classes differentiating people. The woman's voice is clearly alluding to communism in East Germany, stressing everyone stay the same and eat the same breakfast sandwich. This again shows that McDonalds is dominating the people and denying society freedom. These historical references are great, but the commercial would not be complete without symbolism.

Symbolism is another key part of the Taco Bell Routine Republic commercial. Taco Bell uses numerous symbols in the commercial to show the viewer watching that the city controlling the people is McDonalds, and the city outside the border is Taco Bell. One important symbol is that the guards controlling the city had their faces painted like a clown. This represents Ronald McDonald, who is the mascot and spokesperson for the company. His face is painted the exact same way as the guards in the commercial. The authorities in the commercial that represent Ronald McDonald are dressed like soldiers, as if they are at war. This shows that McDonalds is at war with their fast food competition, trying to stop the masses from eating anywhere besides McDonalds. The breakfast sandwich shown in the commercial is also crucial. It represents the McDonalds McMuffin sandwich. It is small and looks very bland, which Taco Bell does on purpose to make the viewer feel that McDonalds breakfast is gross and out of date. In addition, the yellow slide is another symbol for McDonalds. The guards go down this yellow slide to chase down the man and woman trying to escape. McDonalds is known for having a similar slide in their restaurants at the play area for kids to enjoy. But, the commercial has twisted the use of the slide from fun to a tool used for controlling people. The small food toys in the ad represent the toys from a McDonalds happy meal. However, in the commercial the toys are used as bombs. This again alludes to McDonalds being at war with their competition. Even the ticker at the front window that counts how many people have been served alludes to McDonalds. They have signs in front of their restaurants that say "billions and billions served" and used to have a ticker keeping track of how many customers in total they have helped in the company history. The ad shows viewers that this ticker represents quantity, not quality. McDonalds with this ticker does not care about a customer personally, they just want their money. There are plenty of McDonalds trademarks, but there are a couple of Taco Bell symbols also. The hexagon that is "bad" in the commercial represents the Taco Bell AM Crunchwrap sandwich. It looks colorful and filling so that consumers will want to go out and buy it. Lastly, the bell that goes off when the man and woman are running away from the border walls is the exact same sounding bell that Taco Bell uses in their other commercials. The bell illustrates liberation, as the man and woman are freed from the dictatorship of McDonalds. Symbols can also be in the form of colors, not just objects.  

The last key component in the Taco Bell Routine Republic commercial is imagery, specifically color. In the city that represents McDonalds, the whole city is gray and dark. There are no bright colors in this city. This is done to portray the location as bleak and desolate, and not a good restaurant to eat breakfast at. These dreary colors also tie into the idea of McDonalds being controlling and not allowing any rights. However, when the man and woman escape away from the communist country into the place that represents Taco Bell, the colors of the new city are very bright and happy. This shows that this restaurant is very healthy and fun, and you should eat here. The bright colors also symbolize freedom, as this new place allows for choices and ultimately a better life. Taco Bell knows that colors can heavily influence how people emotionally feel about something, and use this in their commercial to their benefit. 

Together, the Taco Bell Routine Republic ad uses historical references, symbols, and color to get consumers to feel McDonalds is a bad restaurant that ultimately oppresses society. McDonalds has been making breakfast food longer, so many people believe that McDonalds is better at it than Taco Bell. Therefore, Taco Bell attacks them in this commercial to have people see McDonalds is out of date, and Taco Bell is superior than them. I think Taco Bell does a great job in this ad of talking to the consumers, and the people have responded. According to a fiscaltimes.com survey, the populations have decreased eating breakfast at McDonalds, and increased eating breakfast at other fast food restaurants such as Taco Bell. McDonalds is going to have to react quickly, otherwise their breakfast profit is going to continue to drop. This goes to show how powerful advertising can be, and how one commercial can make or break a company altogether.       

