Going against conventional marketing tactics, Doritos has launched an ad campaign that avoids the use of any logo or brand name. We explore the insights behind this and how the move aims to appeal to those who are tired of blatant advertising – especially ad-fatigued Gen Zers, many of whom have expressed a distaste for conspicuous branding.
As part of its ‘Another Level’ campaign, Doritos has revamped its social channels, removing brand features from all its tweets and substituting the logo for a red triangle on a black background. The Doritos handle has also been replaced with @Logo_Goes_Here, and the official Doritos website has even migrated to a new address: thelogogoeshere.com. The snack giant also released a 60-second 'Anti-Ad' on YouTube featuring blank chip bags, with the messaging: “The following is a paid message for a chip so iconic we don’t need to name it, cause this is an ad with no logos, no jingles, no gimmicks, just those red and blue bags with the stuff you love in it.”
The logo-less Doritos campaign comes at a time when 75% of social media users feel that ads are taking over their feeds, and many are suffering from ad fatigue. Overt branding and logos – once markers of status – seem to have lost their allure as people are increasingly drawn to simpler and subtler labels. This aversion tends to be most prevalent amongst Gen Zers, who on the whole are more skeptical of marketing strategies than any other generation. Indeed, a 2019 survey asking participants to rate brands from ‘love’ to ‘hate’ found that Gen Zers are significantly less brand-loyal than Gen Yers. However, 82% of them say social responsibility is something they look for in their favourite brands, showing that being both subtle and socially minded is the way to tap this cohort.
Hannah Septoff is a member of Canvas8’s editorial team and has a degree in social anthropology and politics from The University of Edinburgh. She’s passionate about the intricacies of human gender, sexuality and love and when not at work can be found on the rugby pitch or eating hummus.
