Doritos is returning to the Super Bowl ad scene in 2025, but instead of relying on an agency or brand executive to come up with the creative concept, the snack brand is looking to fans to create the final product.
From 2006 to 2016, Doritos ran the “Crash the Super Bowl” contest featuring fan-made ads, which landed in the top five commercials on the USA Today Ad Meter for each of those 10 years, including four years in the No. 1 spot, according to Frito-Lay.
This year, the brand is once again putting its Super Bowl ad’s fate in the hands of a fan and is bringing the contest back, starting with a pair of self-deprecating ads seeking submissions and culminating with a winning fan-made ad airing during the broadcast on Fox on Feb. 9.
So you think you can ad: There are plenty of Super Bowl viewers who criticize the ads—or even think they can come up with better ones. So, according to the company, the idea is to challenge people to do just that.
“We still firmly believe that the best ideas often come from the most unexpected places,” Tina Mahal, SVP of marketing at PepsiCo Foods North America, said in a press release.
On Thursday, Doritos began accepting submissions at DoritosCrash.com, and the brand will keep the contest open through Nov. 11. Later in the year, a panel of judges will select 25 submissions, one for each year Doritos has advertised in the Super Bowl, before narrowing the list to three finalists in January. At that point, voting will open to the public to choose the winning ad.
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The winner of the contest won’t just have their work appear on advertising’s biggest stage. They’ll also be awarded $1 million and an all-expenses-paid trip to New Orleans for the game, according to Frito-Lay.
Roasted: To promote the contest, Doritos is running a series of billboard ads around the country, plus a social campaign, highlighting online criticisms of past Super Bowl commercials. The burns of the brand include:
- “I really HATE this commercial. Like, really. And truly.”
- “That was so dumb.”
- “Fire your marketing team, Brutal.”
- “Doritos commercial? Mid.”
To pay homage to past contests, Doritos will also run two spots featuring two past “Crash the Super Bowl” winners, “Goat 4 Sale” and “Slap.” The new commercials, which were directed by “Goat 4 Sale” creator Ben Callner, ask viewers if they think they can create something better than those ads.
Big game picture: Though the NFL season has barely begun, brands are already sharing their Super Bowl plans. Skechers confirmed its presence in May, and in July, ice-cream brand Häagen-Dazs announced it would make its first appearance in the game.
Fox is reportedly charging at least $7 million for 30 seconds of air time in the 2025 game, per Variety, a touch higher than what CBS reportedly sought for 30-second spots in the 2024 Super Bowl. Brands continue to shell out the big bucks for a variety of reasons, like the unparalleled reach of the event.
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