Aliens, Ad Men, and a Bag of Doritos: How a Super Bowl Spot Abducted Our Attention

Every year, millions gather not just for football but for the ads. The Super Bowl transformed over the decades into an advertising arena, where brands battle with 30 seconds of wit, wonder, or wild creativity. In 2025, amidst a sea of cinematic budgets and celebrity cameos, it took a bag of Doritos and a spaceship to steal the show.

Doritos aired a spot called “Abduction”, a fan-submitted ad through their iconic Crash the Super Bowl contest. The idea? Simple. The execution? Unexpected brilliance. What began as a sci-fi setup twisted itself into an unforgettable crescendo — all within the span of half a minute.

“Abduction” opened like a Spielberg teaser. A man stood in the middle of a desolate road. A glowing beam swept down from a spaceship above. He held Doritos. The aliens took him.

Seconds later, the twist unfolded: the aliens weren’t after knowledge or diplomacy. They were after the chips. One alien snatched the Doritos and bolted, stranding its companion — who had just risked interstellar travel to grab a snack. The message landed clearly: Doritos are out of this world — literally.

The spot delivered its punchline with surgical timing. It used no voiceover, no product explanation. Just crisp storytelling, a cinematic lens, and the universal truth that the last chip in the bag is always worth fighting for.

From a branding standpoint, “Abduction” taught marketers a crucial lesson: the most powerful stories are rarely the loudest. They are the ones that resonate. The ad borrowed from sci-fi culture, yet grounded its humor in something relatable — the love for snacks, and the petty selfishness that often accompanies it.

It followed three core advertising truths Ogilvy swore by:

• Clarity over cleverness: The product remained the hero from frame one.
  
  
• Emotion equals memory: Humor, especially the kind that nods to pop culture, lingered longer in the viewer’s mind.
  
  
• Respect the audience: The ad trusted viewers to ‘get it’ — no text overlays, no catchphrase forced into the frame.
  
  

While many brands chased virality through spectacle, Doritos bet on narrative precision — and won.

Doritos’ “Abduction” stood as proof that a great idea, born from fan creativity and sharpened by a smart brand, could outshine even the most expensive productions. It didn’t need a Hollywood actor. It didn’t need a social cause. It needed a bold premise, a funny payoff, and absolute confidence in its audience.

For advertisers watching, it was a lesson wrapped in crunch: story first, brand always, and humanity above all.

Even in a galaxy far, far away, flavor still wins.