Doritos Dipped Into Customer Creativity to Deliver a Timeless Ad

If you’ve watched any sort of TV in the past five years, you’ve probably seen Doritos’ Time Machine commercial. You know, the one where the little kid tricks his neighbor into giving up his Doritos by telling him it’s fuel for his makeshift “time machine”. The commercial aired during the Super Bowl in 2014 and has continued to play ever since. But did you know this commercial wasn’t made by Doritos?

In 2013, Doritos created a contest called “Crash the Super Bowl” allowing anyone to write and shoot an ad for the chip company. Then, they sat back and waited for the brilliant spots to roll in. This was a crafty strategy from the Doritos team to get more creative minds into their advertising mix. They believed their customers would come up with some amazing commercials fit for a Super Bowl spot—and they delivered.

The Time Machine ad won the contest with a budget of only $300, according to USA Today. This ad proves you don’t need a big production with highly regarded actors and fancy graphics to make headlines. People respond to well-written stories that are short and easy to follow, which describes the Time Machine ad perfectly.

The ad is also relatable. Anyone can easily throw themselves into the narrative. Everyone knows that old cranky man down the street; that gullible friend or neighbor, who always seems to be snacking on something; and that menacing little kid constantly searching for their next victim. Throw some Doritos in there and you have an award-winning Super Bowl commercial that will stand the test of time… at least until they actually make a Doritos-fueled time machine.