Doritos Silent Calls Crunch Time On Noisy Eaters
Is there anything more irritating than noisy eating? For anyone with misophonia, it’s the anti-ASMR, sending waves of revulsion up and down the nervous system. And as annoying as it is when you’re sitting in awkward silence round the dining table, nothing beats the nerve-shredding torture of having the sound piped straight into your skull via headphones.
For gamers, this can be a major issue when your raiding party members are keeping their energy up with snack food - and chomping directly into their headset’s microphone. It certainly sends us a bit Leroy Jenkins.
That’s why Doritos has created a new ‘Silent’ tool for gamers that allows them to filter out the cacophony of crunching. Launching last week, the AI-driven software can be downloaded by Windows/PC gamers.
Matt Watson, executive creative director at Sips & Bites, PepsiCo’s in-house creative agency talks to LBB’s Laura Swinton about bringing the project to life.
LBB> Where did the insight about the irritation of crunching into your gaming headset come from?
Matt> Snacking and gaming are synonymous, with 86% of gamers claiming they tuck into a snack whilst playing. Doritos’ crunch and bold flavours have become popular amongst gamers, with consumers more likely to be gaming whilst eating Doritos compared to other salty snacks. However, we knew that while consumers continue to love our iconic Doritos crunch, our research uncovered that many gamers are put off by the sound of other players snacking. Over a third (35%) of gamers claim the sound of someone snacking frustrates them when playing, with 29% saying it impacts their performance and a further one in five (18%) gamers say the sound makes them want to log off.
As a gamer myself, I know just how distracting it can be when you’re concentrating, and you have the loud noise of someone else crunching on snacks through the speakers/headset.
To tackle this challenge within the gaming community, we created the world’s first AI-augmented silent snack – ‘Doritos Silent’ – delivering the same crunch, but with no sound through Crunch Cancellation technology. The launch not only solves a genuine consumer tension but helps to cement Doritos as a top choice for gamers.
LBB> The decision to engage with cutting edge AI technology feels like a creative choice in itself as this is an audience that tends to be ahead of the curve when it comes to tech. How did gamers' interest in AI, and all things computing feed into this high tech approach and how the chip detects crunch sounds?
Matt> Our priority was to solve a genuine consumer challenge and the use of AI seemed to be the right approach. AI has had an impactful role in aiding us tackle an issue in the gaming space through its Crunch cCancellation software – it’s since provided us with an innovative way to silence a Doritos crunch while ensuring gamers can continue to enjoy their favourite Doritos flavours.
Through the Crunch Cancellation technology, the sound of someone’s voice is separated, in real time, from the noise of the Doritos crunch. The AI then stops the crunch audio from being sent down the microphone – meaning all PC gamers can enjoy that famous crunch without it distracting them and their squad from winning.
LBB> More generally, can you tell me about the relationship that Doritos has with its gaming audience and how that relationship is growing/evolving?
Matt> Gaming has always been a heartland for Doritos. We know that when eating Doritos, consumers are more likely to be gaming than with any other salty snack brand, so we’ve been aware of the natural correlation between snacking and gaming for a while, having activated in this space in recent years. However, it wasn’t until we conducted research that we realised just how closely aligned the two are. With 86% of gamers claiming they tuck into a snack whilst playing, gaming represents a huge occasion and opportunity for growth for Doritos.
Over the last few years, the focus on gaming has really grown as gen z’s interest in gaming has come to the fore. gen z are digitally native and are huge gamers, making them an important demographic for us to target. Indeed, 81% of gen z have played games in the past six months, and with 71% of the demographic preferring staying home to going out, it’s clear that gaming is an activity that particularly resonates with them.
With gaming one of the preferred pastimes of gen z, the campaign was developed to reinforce Doritos’ role in gaming while helping to solve a genuine challenge for gamers too.
LBB> I'm curious, did you guys know that the technology even existed when you were coming up with creative idea? Was it a case of coming up with the idea and then finding the tech to bring it to life, or did you have an idea that the technology was available first?
Matt> Doritos had tested the technology on a smaller scale in Spain last year and we realised after this and further research that our insight resonated universally and was much wider reaching. We therefore knew that a unique solution was needed to solve this challenge and as a result, we collaborated with leading software developers, Smooth Technology, to create the technology. Taking half a year to develop, the process involved the technical analysis of more than 5,000 thousand different Doritos crunch sounds to teach our AI systems to identify the iconic Doritos crunch. 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.
We wanted to make sure the experience was as accessible to as many as possible and therefore the software is available to all Windows/PC users. Through our disruptive visuals and OOH adverts, we’ve set out to grab people’s attention with an eye-catching and disruptive creative.
LBB> From a storytelling perspective, there's been some really fun teasing ahead of the big reveal - why did you decide to approach the campaign that way rather than dropping everything at once?
Matt> We knew with such a big idea, we needed to build momentum and intrigue to truly cut through. The creative therefore had to have ‘stop and stare’ appeal, which is why the close-up of the Doritos chip in the ear was concepted. This is about driving huge impact and disruption with an arresting visual that makes people stop, stare and question “What is ‘Doritos Silent’ and how is that possible?”.
It’s fair to say that the “You won’t hear it coming” creative is one of our most disruptive campaigns to date – striking the balance between creating intrigue and a buzz around the brand. We wanted to make people stop in their tracks and pay attention and critically, start a conversation about this perceived new launch.
We chose high-footfall placements for our OOH adverts, as well as used the disruptive visual on digital channels to drive further buzz. We knew the initial creative would get people talking and we wanted to fan the flames via the Doritos social channels to get people guessing, as well as through working with Ladbible.
Once we had people’s attention, we could unveil the innovative AI solution – via a digital creative and additional advertising. With the launch itself, it was important we showed the actual technology in action by showing the tech in action and using the absence of sound to highlight what Doritos’ Crunch Cancellation technology will bring to the gaming community – reinforcing what is one of Doritos most distinctive assets, the crunch.
Our creative clearly shows how game-changing (no pun intended!) this tech will be for our audience. The activity drives consumers towards the microsite, where they can download the software, and allows Doritos to build a database for use in future comms. There is a ‘gamer spine’ to the activation, but we also believe the unique nature of the campaign will generate interest from outside the gaming community, as the tech can be used in most voice PC applications.
LBB> Given the complexity of the campaign, do you think that being an in-house agency made it easier to navigate all of the different parts of PepsiCo needed to bring it to life?
Matt> The packaging for Doritos remains the same, however, in order to create appeal and cause intrigue we changed the packaging in the campaign visual to demonstrate that something unconventional was launching as part of our disruptive approach. We really wanted to convey that any flavour of Doritos can be silent, with Crunch Cancellation activated.
The campaign was brought to life through PepsiCo’s agency ecosystem of internal and external partners. Sips & Bites were the lead creative agency overseeing the campaign end to end. As part of an overall creative agency ecosystem, we operate using an agile model where in-house and external partners have an important role to play in all campaigns.
LBB> What were the most interesting challenges you had to overcome and how did you address them?
Matt> Driving empathetic creative to cut through the clutter and reach consumers has never been easier, but in an increasingly fragmented communication landscape, it's now more challenging for brands to break through the clutter.
Now more than ever, creative ideas must be rooted in deep human insights in order to resonate with consumers. By reflecting their needs, feelings, wishes and dreams, we can make them feel seen and heard. As part of this, it’s critical to be tapping into relevant contextual and cultural moments to really connect with our intended audience. In this case, as gen z’s interest in gaming has come to the fore, it was important that at the heartland of the campaign, we made an impact by addressing some of the tension that is prevalent in this space – cementing Doritos as a top choice for gamers.
