The Crunch of Acceptance: What Doritos Teaches Us About Emotional Branding
A school bus. A shy new kid. A bag of Doritos. But 30 seconds in, we’re no longer watching a commercial—we’re watching a social shift in motion. This isn’t about flavor. It’s about recognition, status, and that age-old teenage dream: to be liked.
Doritos didn’t sell chips.
They sold their brand positioning..
The scene is simple but sharp. A young boy, new to school, boards the bus alone. His mom has packed him lunch and a bag of Doritos. He takes a seat and opens the bag. One small gesture—offering a chip to a girl across the aisle—sparks something.
A classmate spots it. Whispers: “He’s handing out Doritos!”
Suddenly, the new kid is a magnet. Students flood his seat. Smiles replace silence. Just like that, he’s transformed—from outsider to center of attention. The snack becomes a symbol of instant social value.
Doritos isn’t in the business of chips. It’s in the business of human interactions.
The ad works because it taps into a core human truth: people want to feel included. That truth matters far more than any product feature. It’s marketing that understands the emotional stakes behind everyday actions.
1. Lead with Emotion, Not Ingredients
People won’t remember the crispness or the spice. They’ll remember the moment the kid turned invisible into influential. That’s what resonates.
2. Make It Relatable
Everyone has felt like the new kid at school, in a job, in life. The spot doesn’t rely on celebrity faces or exaggerated humor. It uses something everyone knows: the quiet anxiety of fitting in.
3. Keep It Effortless
There’s no tagline shouted. No product benefits listed. The product is part of the story, not the whole story. That subtlety makes it powerful.
4. Position Your Product as a Catalyst
Doritos didn’t just exist in the scene. They changed the scene. The best brands don’t just fit into the narrative—they drive it forward. They give the consumer a role to play.
Consumers are smart. They scroll fast. They filter noise. But they stop for emotion. For stories that reflect who they are, or who they want to be.
This ad succeeded because it made Doritos more than a snack.
It became a ticket to confidence. A fast track to friendship. A shortcut to acceptance.
And in marketing, that’s the sweet spot: when your product becomes a feeling, not just a thing.
At SAVOIRE, that’s what we craft—brands that make people feel something. Because attention fades, but emotion stays.