The Doritos "Ultrasound" campaign leverages humor to reinforce the brand’s proposition of delivering an engaging, irreverent snacking experience that resonates with a fun-loving, casual audience. By placing the well-known Doritos experience within a unique and relatable domestic setting—an ultrasound appointment—the commercial underscores the brand’s promise to inject humor and spontaneity into everyday moments. This aligns with Doritos’ broader value proposition of being not just a snack, but a catalyst for memorable social interactions and shared laughter.
The market strategy centers on tapping into the cultural prominence of the Super Bowl as a prime moment for snack consumption and comedic advertising. The campaign uses a clever, situational humor narrative that subverts the typical quiet, serious atmosphere of a prenatal ultrasound with the noisy, playful antics of a husband eating Doritos. This creative angle exploits the contrast between restraint and indulgence, engaging a broad adult demographic likely to be interested in snacking and family dynamics. The comedic tension between the couple and the fetus’s literal “reaction” to the Doritos chips creates a memorable and shareable moment designed to capture attention during a high-stakes advertising event.
The targeting reflects an insight into contemporary family life and social habits, highlighting light-hearted domestic chaos as a touchpoint for connection. By focusing on a relatable scenario involving parents-to-be, the campaign appeals to younger adults and families who appreciate humor rooted in real-life experiences. Overall, this approach strategically positions Doritos as an active, enjoyable part of social and family settings, using humor to enhance brand recall and consumer engagement during a key industry event.
FORMAT#6 BENEFIT CAUSES STORY — Builds a story where the product’s benefit is the reason for the action or twist.
The Doritos 'Ultrasound' commercial fits format #6 because the entire humorous plot unfolds as a direct result of the product’s irresistible appeal—here, Doritos’ taste making even an unborn baby react dramatically. The scenario at the ultrasound, with the baby lunging for Doritos and causing chaos, doesn’t resolve a pre-existing problem or necessarily follow a story structure where Doritos solves an issue; instead, the ridiculous events are triggered by the enticing nature of the chips. This causality (the product’s desirability provoking a surprising story twist) is the hallmark of the “Benefit Causes Story” format.
ADVERTISING FORMATS EXPLAINED: https://www.clapboard.com/blog/branding-and-advertising/brand-strategy/12-advertising-creative-formats
1. Lay’s – Market Positioning
Lay’s positions itself as a classic, all-American potato chip brand known for its wide variety of flavors and consistent quality. It emphasizes simplicity, approachability, and family-friendly appeal, targeting mass-market snack consumers who value familiar, satisfying tastes and crunchy textures.
2. Pringles – Market Positioning
Pringles differentiates through its unique saddle-shaped chips and innovative packaging in a resealable can, focusing on convenience and portion control. It markets itself as a fun, shareable snack with bold, often unconventional flavors, appealing to a younger, trend-conscious audience seeking novelty.
3. Cheetos – Market Positioning
Cheetos leverages bold flavor profiles and a quirky, humorous brand personality, targeting younger consumers who enjoy intense, savory snacks. Its strategic angle centers on fun and irreverence, with iconic mascots and playful marketing to create strong emotional engagement.
4. Ruffles – Market Positioning
Ruffles stands out with its ridged texture designed for enhanced crunch and chip durability, positioning itself as a hearty, substantial snack perfect for dipping. It appeals to consumers seeking a satisfying, flavorful experience, often emphasizing ruggedness and boldness in its advertising.
5. Funyuns – Market Positioning
Funyuns offers a unique snack experience with its onion-flavored, ring-shaped chips, differentiating through distinctive taste and shape. Its strategy targets consumers looking for an alternative to traditional chips, emphasizing bold flavor and a lighthearted, novelty snack appeal.
Q: What is Ultrasound about?
A: Ultrasound is a 2016 Super Bowl commercial created for Doritos by director Peter Carstairs from Perth, Australia. Released in the United States, the campaign was a finalist in Doritos’ Crash the Super Bowl contest and centers on a humorous scenario during a couple’s ultrasound appointment. The ad’s central idea features a husband whose noisy snacking with Doritos provokes a playful, chaotic response from their unborn baby, ultimately leading to a comedic climax. The film leverages relatable family dynamics and unexpected humor to reinforce Doritos’ bold brand personality within the confectionery and snacks market.
Q: What creative device does Ultrasound use?
A: Ultrasound employs the Benefit Causes Story format, as classified by Clapboard’s 12-format taxonomy. In this approach, the product’s irresistible appeal is the direct catalyst for the campaign’s narrative twist: the Doritos chips are so enticing that even an unborn baby reacts dramatically to them. The entire plot unfolds as a result of the product’s desirability, rather than solving a pre-existing problem, making the humor and chaos a direct outcome of the brand’s core benefit.
Q: What is the campaign proposition for Ultrasound?
A: The campaign proposition for Ultrasound positions Doritos as a catalyst for humor and spontaneous fun within everyday life, targeting a broad, fun-loving, and casual audience. By placing the brand at the center of a relatable domestic moment—a prenatal ultrasound—the campaign underscores Doritos’ promise to inject laughter and irreverence into social and family settings. This strategic positioning leverages the cultural significance of the Super Bowl as a key snacking occasion, aiming to make Doritos synonymous with memorable, shareable moments that resonate with younger adults and families.
Q: How does Ultrasound rank in Clapboard's archive?
A: Ultrasound holds a Clapboard Campaign Score of 73/100 in Clapboard’s global ad archive. This score reflects the campaign’s creative ambition, execution quality, and cultural relevance as assessed by Clapboard’s curatorial standards.
Q: Who are the competitors in Doritos's category?
A: In the confectionery and snacks category, Doritos competes with Lay’s, which is positioned as an all-American classic chip brand known for its variety and family-friendly appeal; Pringles, which differentiates through its unique shape, resealable packaging, and a focus on convenience and bold flavors for a younger audience; Cheetos, which leverages intense flavors and a quirky, humorous brand personality to engage younger consumers; Ruffles, recognized for its ridged texture and hearty, dip-friendly chips targeting those seeking a substantial snack; and Funyuns, which offers a distinctive onion-flavored, ring-shaped chip experience aimed at consumers looking for novelty and bold taste.
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