There are
good marketing campaigns. There are
great marketing campaigns. And then there’s
Doritos Crash the Super Bowl—the
greatest marketing move of all time.
Not just
brilliant. Not just
viral. Not just
game-changing.
PERFECT.
That’s a word I don’t throw around lightly. But in the case of
Crash the Super Bowl, it’s the only word that fits.
After a nine-year hiatus, Doritos has
resurrected the greatest crowdsourced advertising campaign in history, and it was even better than before. The winning ad,
“Abduction”, deserved every ounce of recognition it got—and as a proud voter (and a guy who happens to run a marketing company with a UFO in its logo), I can say without hesitation:
This. Contest. Is. GENIUS.
Doritos isn’t just making ads. They’re making history.
WHY THIS IS THE SMARTEST MARKETING MOVE OF ALL TIME
Let’s break this down, because most people—even in the marketing world—don’t understand the sheer brilliance of what’s happening here.
1. IT’S SELF-FUNDED GENIUS
Think about the
insane amount of money that companies spend on ad agencies every year. We’re talking
millions of dollars for just one high-end commercial.
Doritos?
They flipped the script
Instead of paying
one agency to develop
one commercial with
one creative team, they let
thousands of creatives
compete to make
their best work—for
FREE.
That’s right.
Thousands of filmmakers, production teams, writers, actors, and editors poured
their own money, time, and resources into crafting
professional-level commercials,
just for the chance to have it aired during the Super Bowl.
And Doritos?
They only have to pay for
one prize.
2. EVERY AD IS PRE-TESTED BEFORE IT EVEN AIRS
Most brands spend
millions testing their ads with focus groups. They produce multiple versions, tweak messaging, tweak visuals, and hope they’ve
guessed right before throwing down another
$7 million just to air the thing.
Doritos doesn’t
hope their ad will land. They
know it will.
Because by the time the winning ad is announced, it has already been voted on by
hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people.
It’s
battle-tested,
audience-approved, and
ready to dominate.
3. IT’S VIRAL BEFORE IT EVEN HITS THE SUPER BOWL
Most brands drop their Super Bowl ad
during the game and hope people talk about it.
Doritos?
They get
months of free publicity
before the game even happens.
Why?
Because every single person who submits a commercial
promotes the hell out of it.
Filmmakers blast their entries across
social media, YouTube, Reddit, TikTok, and everywhere else people consume content. Fans debate the best ones,
media outlets cover the competition, and by the time the
winner is announced, the ad is already legendary.
Even the
losers get millions of views.
And that’s
before it airs in front of
100 million people on Super Bowl Sunday.
No brand
ever gets that kind of exposure.
4. IT TURNS CONSUMERS INTO BRAND ADVOCATES
You can’t buy
authentic hype. You can’t buy
word-of-mouth marketing at scale.
But Doritos
created a machine that fuels itself.
Every single filmmaker, cast member, and production crew
becomes a die-hard Doritos fan for life. They’re personally invested in the brand because they put their
heart and soul into making these commercials.
And then there’s the audience—the millions of fans who
vote,
argue, and
rally around their favorite ads like it’s a political campaign.
It’s
community-driven marketing at the highest level.
THE WINNING AD WAS THE BEST, NO QUESTION
As someone who
voted, I can tell you—the
right ad won.
“Abduction” was hilarious, creative, and
exactly what a Super Bowl ad should be.
An alien trying to abduct a bag of Doritos from a paranoid conspiracy theorist?
Genius.
The humor was
on point. The concept was
original. And it was
pure Doritos energy—bold, fun, and just weird enough to stand out.
They earned that
$1 million prize, and honestly?
They deserve more.
Because
beyond the money, they just got something even more valuable—something money can’t buy.
A Super Bowl ad on their résumé.
Imagine applying for a directing job and being able to say, “Oh yeah, my commercial aired during the Super Bowl.”
That’s not just career-changing. That’s life-changing.
And not just for the winner—even the runners-up now have high-level commercial work in their portfolios that will open doors in the industry.
This contest
changes lives.
WHY ALL MARKETING SHOULD ASPIRE TO BE THIS GOOD
Marketing
isn’t about spending the most money. It’s not about following trends. It’s about
understanding human behavior at a fundamental level.
Doritos gets it.
They understand that people don’t want
ads—they want
stories.
They understand that
giving people a reason to care is more powerful than any ad budget.
They understand that
real marketing isn’t about pushing a message—it’s about sparking engagement.
Doritos set the bar.
And every brand should be
taking notes.
WE’RE COMING FOR THE 2026 CROWN
This isn’t just a blog post.
This is a
declaration.
1644 Media is entering Crash the Super Bowl next year.
We’re bringing our
A-game.
We’re coming with
EPIC storytelling.
We’re coming with
ideas that will melt minds.
And with every ounce of
out-of-this-world creativity that defines
1644 Media, we are
going for the WIN.
And you, my friend—you reading this right now—you’re gonna want to watch what happens next.
No Limits. Just Possibilities.
Doritos, we’ll see you in 2026.
🔥🚀
Game on. 🚀🔥
