Doritos and PepsiCo’s in-house agency, Sips + Bites, have launched a silent Doritos. Doritos Silent is the world’s first AI augmented snack – powered by Crunch Cancellation, a technology that cancels the Doritos crunch for fellow gamers in real time as they game with each other. The AI stops the crunch audio from being sent down the microphone so that all PC gamers can enjoy Doritos without it distracting them and their squad from winning.
Snacking and gaming are besties, with 86% of gamers claiming they snack while playing. Doritos is a top pick among gamers but the crunch proved to be off-putting in research. A third (35%) of gamers claim the sound of someone snacking frustrates them when playing, while one in five (18%) gamers saying the sound makes them want to log off.
So Doritos Silent solves two problems. It puts Doritos on top in a crowded market (there is no shortage of snacks in the world) and it stops crunch tension.
Doritos Silent was introduced with an intriguing teaser featuring an image of a Dorito in an ear and the tagline, You won’t hear it coming, across OOH in the UK and digital, before the Doritos Crunch Cancellation technology was revealed.
Doritos Silent took half a year to develop, the process involved the technical analysis of more than 5,000 thousand different Doritos crunch sounds to create a database. From these recordings, Doritos Crunch Cancellation technology then utilises AI learning audio driver technology to allow gamers to enjoy their Doritos without interrupting their playing experience.
The campaign, produced by Sips + Bites and OB management, covers DOOH, OOH, press, digital, social and influencer marketing. The commercial was shot by Josh Cohen and Lillie Eiger. Consumer PR activity was run by Splendid Comms, with OMD managing the media buying.
Karina Stoltz, senior brand manager at Doritos, commented, “Gaming is a massive industry worth over £7bn , and is particularly enjoyed by Gen Z – a key demographic for Doritos. We know that the nation loves the satisfying crunch of Doritos, but listening to someone else enjoy them can be off-putting, particularly when concentrating while gaming. This concept isn’t a gimmick – it’s the real deal. The campaign aims to provoke immediate buzz and asks the questions, ‘how is it possible to silence the famous Doritos crunch’? ‘Crunch Cancellation’ software is simple to use and can identify over three million crunches in real time and silences them from travelling down the microphone.”
The silencing software may be downloaded for free by heading to Doritos.co.uk/SILENT. It takes a few simple clicks to install and works exclusively with PCs.
