Taco Bell’s ‘Steal a Base, Steal a Taco’ World Series Promotion: The Thrill of the Chase | Eater

"An author chronicles their emotional roller-coaster chasing a free taco from the "Steal a Base, Steal a Taco" World Series promotion run by a national fast-food chain. The promo's catchy slogan and heavy broadcasts sparked excitement, but practical hurdles—requirement to download the restaurant’s app, only one reward per account, delayed reward appearance, persistent and irrelevant app notifications, and the odd need to enter credit card info for a $0 order—turned the experience frustrating. After redeeming an initial sign-up freebie via counter pickup to avoid human interaction, repeated app errors and an unresponsive in-app contact form pushed the author to DM the chain’s customer-care Twitter account and find others reporting similar problems. Ultimately the stolen-base reward arrived about a week later (around Nov. 4 at 3 p.m.), leaving the author unsure whether media coverage or patience prompted delivery." - Missy Frederick