Community | Buzzworthy Summer Sizzle The fast-food merch parade keeps on marching, with new offerings from established collections, collaborations with apparel and accessory brands, a soup-tastic swim collection – even a collectors-item heist! By Rachel Zoch 1. Taco Bell x Crocs Summer Slides Taco Bell’s merch game is strong, with a long history of wacky goods and brand stunts. While slides have long been a part of its collection, this summer, the fast-food chain teamed up with Crocs for a limited-edition pair available exclusively through the Crocs website. Nothing sells like scarcity, and Taco Bell Rewards Members were offered early access to purchase them. Inspired by Taco Bell’s signature colors, the slides feature an ombré fade from black toe to purple heel with the bell logo on the straps and each word of the chain’s slogan “Live Más” imprinted separately in white in each footbed. One delighted fan titled their online review, “Best Crocs ever made!” 2. Hot Girl Summer, Meet Pool Float Armada A quick survey of fast-food fan shops this summer reveals that pool floats have become a must-have element of most merch collections, with new shapes coming out year after year. From giant floating Taco Bell sauce packets to a life-sized (we think) Grimace character from McDonald’s to a giant Tim Horton’s iced cappuccino for fans of the Canadian coffee chain, there’s a fast-food float out there for just about every taste. Even Barbie inspired a whole collection from pool float specialist Funboy, just in time for the summer blockbuster. The multiitem collab with toymaker Mattel features five different limited-edition Barbiethemed floats, plus matching pink captain’s hats, paisley beach towels and more. Many items were already sold out or almost sold out a week before the movie opened in late July. Image Credit: Crocs Image Credit: Funboy/Mattel 84 • SEPTEMBER 2023 • PPAI
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