The Super Bowl is the apotheosis of football, but it's also an advertisement extravaganza in which millions are paid out for 30 seconds of airtime. The most iconic contributor to this trend is Doritos, which, for ten years, turned its commercials into cultural events with its Crash the Super Bowl campaign. This fan-made advertisement helped transform Super Bowl advertising and the ways by which brands communicate with their audience. Here, we will discuss how Doritos took it further to enable its fans to make viral commercials, ordinary people as marketing stars and an unshakeable brand legacy.
Doritos and Super Bowl: A Marketing Match
It is no secret that Doritos has always been adventurous about its marketing activities in the past. But in 2006, it will do one of the most daring activities: solicit crowd sourcing for its Super Bowl commercials. Fans are called to produce their own 30-second spots, and the best spot will air during the Super Bowl itself, of course-an event that is seen by more than 100 million viewers.
This reduced the process of making ads to just a click away from many, but it also granted opportunities for viral, low-budget commercials, more so because high-budget productions, no matter how excellent, could not take one to the heart of the audience all the time. But the case of Doritos during the Super Bowl was a perfect intersection of user-generated content (UGC) and mainstream advertisements to be storming the Super Bowl year after year.
The Rise of Crash the Super Bowl: How Doritos Included Fans
So, back in 2006, Doritos conducted its very first Crash the Super Bowl contest that challenged its audiences to produce their very own original Doritos commercial and see it in the Super Bowl. It was a pretty bold move for the times. Doritos has finally realized how full of creativity everyday consumers are and wants to give them a voice.
It picked up speed quickly, with thousands of aspiring filmmakers and students as well as fans becoming entrants each year. This user-generated content was pure genius in that it created buzz, encouraged engagement with the brand, and deepened Doritos' connection with its consumer base.
Top Fan-Created Doritos Super Bowl Ads That Captivated Millions
Perhaps one of the best byproducts of the Crash the Super Bowl contest is some of the most memorable ads ever to hit the Super Bowl airwaves. Some of these are from fans. Here are a few examples that have left impressions:
1. Time Machine (2014)
Time Machine (2014) – Directed by Ryan Anderson, and costing next to nothing, this homemade Doritos-powered time machine proved amusing enough on YouTube that it actually ended up airing in the Super Bowl.
2. Pug Attack (2011)
Pug Attack (2011) – A fan-directed rather simple yet hilarious commercial feature, this one showed a determined pug making a run for a bag of Doritos through the door. Stripped of elaborate pretences, this straightforward cuteness became one of the viral hits of the year.
3. Underdog (2010)
Underdog (2010) – Light-hearted ad that focused on a humorous theme with a man and a dog fighting over a bag of Doritos. It was very unique among fan-made commercials with its twist at the end.
The reason that these ads stand out is that it embraced the core elements of humor, surprise, and relatability - the same ingredients that generally tend to be a formula for success in Super Bowl ads. Keywords, such as "best Doritos fan ads" and "top Super Bowl Doritos commercials," do well to encapsulate this essence of user-driven creativity.
How Doritos' UGC Campaign Redefined Super Bowl Advertising
Crash the Super Bowl busted the mold companies were using about Super Bowl ads, proving that a $2 million production was not something anyone needed on their resume to make a splash. Enabling their fans to take control of the brand's messaging, Doritos tapped into an immense source of potential―user-generated content (UGC)―an approach many brands then emulated in years afterward.
Brands try to increase organic engagement in all possible ways, and here Doritos proved that if fans are allowed to be heard, this can result in strong bonding. The contest created content, which was being viralled all through: not only does it give people laughter but also put smiles on their faces by giving them the feeling of participation with the brand's journey.
From Fan to Filmmaker: Success Stories from Doritos' Super Bowl Contests
Crash the Super Bowl was a launch pad for many, taking the commercial of their dreams as a chance for much more. In several instances, their lives were changed dramatically with the airing of their commercials before millions.
Take for instance, Joe and Dave Herbert. They made the Doritos Samurai ad that people love watching. When it came on TV, calls began to boom in from majors Hollywood studios opening opportunities for them in the entertainment industry.
The contest created by Doritos turned commoners into filmmakers, that is, taking these commoners from hobbyists to pro-filmmakers. That is a mix of opportunity and visibility reflecting how wide a reach the campaign actually made out.
Why Doritos' Fan-Created Ads Became a Super Bowl Sensation
Few can fathom why Doritos' Crash the Super Bowl campaign would strike a chord with fans and viewers alike. Several reasons might be behind this:
The advertisers were ordinary people who began to resort to humor and situations that everyday viewers could relate to.
While most of the brands were racking up millions for star-studded, high-production ads, Doritos produced at a low cost but made huge returns.
Fan-created ads often had surprise value, making them great for viral sharing on social media and in the news.
The bottom line, the Crash the Super Bowl campaign was a brilliant marketing move which tapped fan creativity to build brand loyalty and create excitement every year.
The Final Bow: Why Doritos Ended Its Crash the Super Bowl Contest
Doritos ended its viral success that spanned ten years with Crash the Super Bowl. The campaign has everyone wondering why it had to stop, but in simple terms, the brand was eager to evolve the old-fashioned way of reaching customers. The times had changed, and so had the platforms and methods of advertising.
As social media applications such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube saturated the digital airwaves, Doritos shifted their approach toward engaging consumers through those mediums. Even though Crash the Super Bowl ended, the legacy of fan-driven advertising lived on.
Doritos Now: How the Brand Continues Dominating the Super Bowl Commercials
Perhaps the Crash the Super Bowl campaign ended, but Doritos has found its standing as part of the biggest Super Bowl advertisers in advertisements. The brand never fails to show its people continuous advertisements which remind the public of funny lines, celebrities and new, fresh ideas. Whether it be Cardi B advertising Flamin' Hot Doritos or a new, bold flavor being launched, Doritos is one of the biggest Super Bowl advertisers, which proves that its marketing powers lie well beyond a fan's created moment.
Conclusion: What Brands Can Learn from Doritos's Super Bowl Commercial Success
Doritos's Crash the Super Bowl contest held such tremendous lessons for brands across the globe. The call to invite its audience to participate in the brand storytelling by Doritos created a long-term relationship with its consumers that goes beyond buying one product. It is clear in these ads that user-generated content can and does prove powerfully successful in engaging and exciting the audience for brands.
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