Incito MentisA blog by Syed Abdul Karim

This is probably the best way to describe Magnum’s Pleasure Hunt – an interactive experience that has been created to launch a new flavor for their ‘Temptation’ range. Like all good ideas, unconnected elements have been brought together to create an entirely new concept. Treasure hunt, the age-old game used by marketers to death, is presented afresh in the form of a virtual ‘pleasure’ hunt, taking a big creative leap from the original. The target group of ‘pleasure-seekers’ and their passions have been nicely captured through the array of brands selected for the experience.

In the end it’s a simple flash game that makes good use of technology and creativity to create a feeling of going from site to site as our virtual girl interacts with elements on the screen to collect bonbons. I think this is a great example of an interactive brand experience executed to perfection.  You can experience the magic here or check out the video capture of the game below. It’s definitely worth a play!

How do they do it! It’s simply amazing what Doritos did for the Super Bowl 2010. 116.2 million viewers watched the Doritos – Snack Attack Samurai spot, making it the most watched television commercial of all time!* WOW!

The brilliant thing about this all is that everything is user generated! That’s right! Doritos simply created a platform and the users did the rest. Anyone with an idea could write it, shoot it and submit it. It was that simple. If they became one of six finalists then they got $25,000 each. The six were then put to vote. The Top 3 were aired as Doritos commercials for the Super Bowl 2010.

To top it all, if they got ranked in the Top 3 on the USA Today ad meter as well then the first place would get $1,000,000, the second place $600,000 and the third place $400,000. If all three took the Top 3 slots then everyone would get a $1,000,000. And so they did, the Doritos Underdog spot took the second place. Two 20-something aspiring filmmakers walked away with $600,000!

I found this entire contest very interesting because Doritos got it right at multiple levels. For one, Doritos engaged the filmmaking community by building on the premise that a great idea can come from anyone! Secondly, they engaged America to participate and vote for the best commercial, thereby taking the idea to the masses and creating interaction!

Lastly, the thing that I found most brilliant was the simplicity of the brief. “Go for action-packed. Or go for funny. It’s up to you.” It is all about Originality, Creativity and Appeal! No big ideas, No big strategies. All the commercials have taken a ‘creative leap’ on a simple message – People who love Doritos don’t want to share them with anyone.

As a creative strategy there was nothing new there! The power is in the creative itself. My personal favorite is ‘House Rules’! “Keep you hands off my mama! Keep your hands off my Doritos!” LOL! Check it out!

Doritos – House Rules

Doritos – Underdog

Doritos – Snack Attack Samurai

* According to the Nielsen Company