Doritos — No Choice

In the United States, you have to register before you can vote. In a country where young people usually sit out the democratic process in big numbers, it’s an extra step that can be a barrier. Case in point: in the 2012 presidential election, 62 percent of youth from the ages of 18 to 24 didn’t vote.

So the Doritos® brand partnered with Rock the Vote, America’s largest nonprofit that encourages young people to register to vote, to introduce Doritos No Choice, the first bag of chips to help boost voter registration.

To launch the product, the bags were hidden in vending machines at several college campuses across America. Through a touch screen, the machines first asked students if they were registered to vote. Those who answered “no” could still choose their desired flavors, but no matter what they chose, the machine surprised them by dispensing bags of No Choice which contained flavorless pieces of cardboard instead of Doritos chips. By taking away their choice, it showed unregistered voters how it feels (and tastes) when you don’t get to choose. An online video was made using hidden cameras at one of the campuses.

The video was released online on Facebook and YouTube, on the day of the first presidential debate, and quickly garnered over 4 million views. The campaign received over 1 billion media impressions and was covered by a wide range of media, including outlets that targeted both major political parties. Even better, voter registrations through Rock the Vote increased by 61 percent, from just under a million in 2012 to 1.6 million in 2016. And Doritos, a brand known as “for the bold,” showed fans that the boldest choice is making a choice.