Frito Lay Canada

For the past two years, Doritos has been connecting with its consumers by letting them take control of the brand’s direction. In 2011, it wanted to take the concept of user-generated content to a new level.

It began with the launch of two new flavours at stores across Canada in BBDO-designed bags: an “A”-emblazoned white pack for Onion Rings n’ Ketchup, and a black bag marked “B” for Buffalo Wings n’ Ranch.

A 60-second spot aired during the Super Bowl, setting the premise that there were two new flavours and one must be destroyed, but the kicker was that the last 20 seconds hadn’t been written yet. At the 40-second mark, the commercial cut out, and consumers were invited to go to Writetheend.ca to describe which flavour should be destroyed, and how.

More than 30,000 people submitted entries and people could vote for the entries they liked best. The contest was supported with online ads, social media and a media buy on teen-centric TV channels.

Finally, a jury picked a winner from 14 peer-voted finalists. The winning ending was shot and revealed live on MuchMusic and MusiquePlus, and Mélanie Normandin of Repentigny, Quebec walked away with a cheque for $25,000 and 1% of all future Onion Rings n’ Ketchup sales.

Frito Lay’s goal of 6,000 submissions was beat by 500% with 30,000 submissions, plus 300,000 votes, and the site received more than 550,000 visits. There were 244 media stories, 187 million PR impressions earned and it all bumped up the number of Doritos fans on Facebook and followers on Twitter.