Taco Bell Wrapper Dress Designer Wins Contest and Commercial Spot

— -- Back in 2012, Olivia Mears was thrilled when she won second place – a $100 gift card and a T-shirt – for her dress made entirely out of taco wrappers for Taco Bell’s “Live Mas to Win Mas” contest.

So it was a pretty big shock three weeks ago when Taco Bell emailed her asking whether she still had the dress. Mears, 23, confirmed she did, and next thing she knew she was on a plane to California to don the dress in a commercial for the Mexican fast-food chain.

“I wasn’t really sure what was going on,” Mears told ABC News. “I thought maybe they wanted some more pictures of it for their Facebook or something like that. But once they finally told me they wanted me to be in a commercial, I had a moment of complete excitement, just jumping around. It never really hit me what I was out there for; it felt like a vacation.”

Taco Bell wanted to find a way to spotlight the fan base behind both Taco Bell and sriracha to promote their new Sriracha Quesarito, so the ad showcased some of their most passionate fans.

“From our food to our marketing, we’re always looking to our fans for inspiration,” a Taco Bell representative told ABC News. “Olivia is a perfect example of someone who brings the ‘Live Mas’ attitude to life with her passion for Taco Bell and costume design.”

Mears spent 10 hours perfecting the dress in between classes for her degrees in fine arts and education, using over 300 unused wrappers from a restaurant near her home in Cullowhee, North Carolina.

After shooting the advertisement, Mears had to keep quiet until the spot aired.

“It was pretty exciting. Everyone was calling and congratulating me, so that was really nice,” she said. “It wasn’t until I saw the commercial that it all kind of finally registered like, ‘OK, I’m on national television now. That’s pretty cool.’”