Taco Bell "Bong" Sound Effect

Submission 21,534

Part of a series on Taco Bell. [View Related Entries]

About

Taco Bell "Bong" Sound Effect refers to a sound effect of a large bell being rung which has been used in commercials of Taco Bell restaurant chain since 2000. In 2020, the sound effect gained popularity in memes following its use in I Like Ya Cut, G videos.

Origin

Starting in 2000, United States restaurant chain Taco Bell started using a sound effect of a large bell being rung in its commercials (examples shown below).^[1]^[2] Prior to that, a different bell sound effect has been used.^[3]

On November 8th, 2014, YouTube^[4] user marioboy22601 uploaded the sound effect to the platform, where it gained over 1.6 million views in six years (shown below). Another upload^[5] made in 2016 received over 139,000 views in four years.

Spread

Prior to 2020, the sound effect saw occasional use in memes. On May 11th, 2012, Twitter^[6] account @TheTacoBellbell was created, and has since been tweeting the word "BONG." On March 3rd, 2017, YouTube^[7] user the_feastinator posted a bass-boosted version of the sound effect, with the video accumulating over 310,000 views in three years (shown below).

Prior to March 23rd, 2020, an unknown user posted an I Like Ya Cut, G meme which used the sound effect. On March 23rd, 2020, YouTube^[8] user ironic reposted the video, with the reupload gaining over 1.3 million views in seven months (shown below).

The sound effect did not see active use until "I Like Ya Cut, G" memes started gaining initial traction in June 2020. During that period, the Taco Bell "Bong" Sound Effect has been used in more such memes, including a Garfield^[9] version and a recreation^[10] of the original meme (shown below, left and right).

On June 27th, 2020, Instagram^[11] user jurassiccccc posted a 21st Century Humor video of Minecraft Steve falling down set to a variety of popular meme sound effects, including the Taco Bell "Bong" SFX. The video (shown below) received over 6,300 views and 1,400 likes in four months and was widely circulated online in the following weeks, including two viral Twitter^[12]^[13] reposts in early July 2020 (259,800 views and 380,400 views in three months).

Following the viral spread of the initial posts, the sound effect gained notable popularity in memes, particularly in 21st Century Humor videos.