Taco Bell airlifts food truck into remote Alaska town after hoax

Pity tiny Bethel, Alaska. First, when they want to "Run for the Border," it's a four-hour trip from the west coast of the state to Anchorage (not by car!). And according to Google Maps, the only restaurants in the entire town are a Subway franchise and something called Sho Gun Restaurant. So when a rumor was started that Taco Bell was going to set up shop in their little town, serious excitement ensued. Then fliers were posted around town heralding the fast food restaurant's pending arrival.

But, again, pity poor Bethel. Because the rumor was nothing more than someone's elaborate, cruel joke. Taco Bell was not coming to Bethel. A population of 6,200 just isn't enough to attract the mexican fast food chain.

But then Taco Bell's creative marketing department decided to turn the hoax into a PR opportunity. Their plan? Taco truck. Loaded with enough fixins to make 10,000 Doritos Locos tacos. Flown in by helicopter.

The townspeople greet the "Operation Alaska" airlifted food truck as if it were U.N. peacekeepers delivering international aid to a war-torn forward area. Kids cheer, adults beam. Taco Bell, if only temporarily, changes life in Bethel.

"This is like Heaven on Earth," one kid says. It's all a little creepy. Watch Taco Bell's new Bethel-based ads below.