A low budget ad, created by consumers, has beaten the output of Madison Avenue’s finest agencies, in the annual Superbowl advertising contest. The ad for Doritos, created by unemployed brothers, Joe and Dave Herbert, for only $2,000, topped USA Today’s annual Super Bowl Ad Meter poll and was the most talked about ad online, according to Zeta interactive.
But before we celebrate the power of user-generated content to cut through the advertising clutter and hammer yet another nail in the coffin of the advertising creative department, a few words of caution:
- Although neither of the Herbert brothers has had formal training in filmmaking, they are both highly experienced amateurs. Joe has a degree in visual communication design and used to run a web design business. They are also working on a feature film and have a board game in production. They are not your typical men in the street. The Doritos advertising competition may be open to everyone, but the company is smart enough to make sure that it is seeded within the artistic and creative communities, which is why the final shortlist tends to feature award winning short film makers, professional musicians and people already working in film production.
- Doritos advertising agency, Goodby Silverstein deserve credit for recognising how low budget, consumer-generated ads would fit the Doritos brand and also create a great PR story – the Herbert brothers have already appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. They may not have art directed and created the actual ad, but Goodby Silverstein have still managed a smart campaign for their client – “we couldn’t have done it without them,” admitted Doritos client, Ann Mukherjee.