Todd Mills, who came up with the idea for Doritos Locos Tacos, lost his battle with cancer on Thanksgiving. The Little Rock, Arkansas father of two was 41 (photo, above.)
Mills started the Facebook page “Taco Shells from Doritos Movement” in 2009, encouraging followers to “tell Frito-Lay that we demand nacho cheesy taco shells!”
On the page, Mills posted photoshopped images of well known figures including Albert Einstein with a cheesy taco shell in a thought bubble, Steve Jobs holding a Macbook with a cheesy taco shell on the screen and Chuck Norris doing a karate kick while holding a cheesy taco shell….
“He was a master with Photoshop, and he created this movement,” [his friend Jimmy] Looney said.
One day, Todd noticed Taco Bell had commented on one of his images.
“He was really excited,” [widow] Ginger Mills said. “Taco Bell was paying attention to him. Of course, we called everyone we knew.”
In 2012, Todd Mills received a phone call from Taco Bell. The company was developing the prized creation — calling it the Doritos Locos Tacos — and wanted to fly Todd out to its test kitchen in California. He was among the first people to try the new product.
POCHO salutes Todd Mills, whose All-American love for Doritos (invented in Disneyland, according to our amigo Gustavo Arellano) is shared by raccoons [NSFW language]:
Photos from Todd Mills FB page.
PREVIOUSLY ON TACO BELL: