How Doritos won over Gen Z

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Let me tell you about one of the smartest campaigns from Doritos.

You’d think it’d be hard to make a corn chip go viral in 2022. But Doritos managed to do exactly this.

Here’s what happened.

Back in August 2022, Doritos found themselves facing a familiar problem- Gen Z wasn’t watching ads. In fact, 99% of them skipped them. Most were using ad blockers too. Basically, the traditional playbook wasn’t going to cut it.

But instead of pushing harder, they realised this audience didn’t want to be sold to, they wanted to play.

Enter the Triangle Tracker

Doritos made the most ordinary shape imaginable, “a triangle,” the star of a $250,000 nationwide treasure hunt. The idea was so simple: turn any triangle in the world into a Dorito.

And people did.

It wasn’t just a campaign. It was a game. They built the Triangle Tracker experience across all the places Gen Z already spent time:

• On Snapchat, users could scan triangles in real life. Billboards. Road signs. Pizza slices. If it was triangular, it could become a Dorito in AR and unlock prize codes.

• On TikTok, Doritos launched weekly challenges asking users to find or create triangles around them. The hashtag racked up over 42 million views and the best entries won $15,000 each.

• In New York, Atlanta and Memphis, they literally turned triangle-shaped buildings into giant Dorito installations. You couldn’t miss them if you tried.

This wasn’t just some gamified stunt. Doritos backed it with smart partnerships:

Xbox, Guess and Vivid Seats all came on board. Their logos, which just happen to be triangles, became part of the game. You could scan them for prizes like custom controllers or fashion drops.

And if that wasn’t enough, Doritos Triangle Island became a real playable map inside Fortnite’s Creative mode.

What marketers can learn from this?

Doritos took their most recognisable brand asset, “a triangle,” and turned it into a creative playground. The campaign blurred the lines between digital, physical and social. And it felt native to every platform it touched.

The numbers say it all.

According to contagious.com:

• 4 million people joined the hunt

• The campaign got 3 billion media impressions

• The campaign got 42.7 million TikTok views

• Oh, and they won Gold at the Andy Awards

Doritos reminded us that when attention is scarce, creativity is currency. Especially with younger audiences who are experts at tuning out anything that feels like an ad.

If you're marketing to Gen Z, it’s about building experiences worth sharing.

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That's a wrap for today! Stay tuned for the next edition.

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Luv

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