Taco Bell’s breakfast boost goes from Pete Davidson to the big

The YUM breakfast category of Taco Bell got a boost last quarter thanks to comedian Pete Davidson.

Breakfast sales spiked after the debut of the ad called The Apology featuring the comedian last October.

Taco Bell brought in Pete Davidson to drive consumer buzz for breakfast. After the company's fourth quarter earnings, David Gibbs said that this led to 9% transaction growth for the daypart.

Taco Bell said it was sorry for going too far for cooking up too many innovative breakfast offerings in the ad. The company said the ad was to acknowledge that it had taken innovation to unwelcomed heights with some of its past breakfast creations looking at you, Naked Egg Taco and Waffle Taco in the 30 second ad. Davidson said: Sometimes we go too far, I have, and that's why Taco Bell has hired me to make an apology. The brand plans to refocus its efforts on its more conventional breakfast items.

Breakfast at Taco Bell locations is available until 11 a.m. local time. Options include Breakfast Crunchwrap with Sausage, Breakfast Quesadilla with Steak and Cheesy and the Toasted Breakfast Burrito with Potatoes.

The Taco Bell brand continues to be a driver for Yum! Brands are all over the place. In the company's earnings results, U.S. sales grew 14%, while international sales rose 23% as customers looked for value and premium offerings. The same-store sales for Q 4 came in much higher than expected, up 11% versus 6.53% expected.

Taco Bell sold 45 million dollars in 2022, which was a key driver for the taco chain, as was Mexican Pizza.

Brooke DiPalma is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma yahoofinance.com.