MTV, Doritos Partner for Reality Series
Amy Johannes
Promo
March 14, 2008
Frito-Lay’s Doritos brand and MTV are in the final days
of their nationwide search to find some spicy girls and
sweets guys to participate in a short-form dating
reality series debuting in April.
People 18 and older can compete for a chance to appear
on the show, “When Spicy Meets Sweets,” by registering
and building a profile at http://spicyandsweet.nextornot.com
through March 16. Contestants are selected based on the
amount of time people spend on the profile pages. The
microsite taps into MTV’s existing NextorNot.com
community that is based on the popular reality show
“Next.”
The promotion, in part, originated as part of Doritos’
recent product launch, Spicy Sweet Chili tortilla chips.
It plays off the experience of combining two opposite
things that complement each other. So, Doritos decided
to take that notion a step further into the world of
dating with MTV.
“We wanted to come up with a way we could articulate the
chip and product experience into something that is
mirrored in real life,” said Kristen Colonna, associate
director of national TV investment for OMD, the agency
handling the promotion.
Eight people, four spicy girls and four sweet guys, will
be selected March 17. The semi-finalists will then be
filmed in 18 one-minute-long episodes that will appear
on MTV starting April 18. Six episodes will air per week
for three weeks.
The winning couple, to be determined by voters, will be
featured on a national Doritos commercial airing this
summer on MTV and MTV2.
So far, more than 25,000 have opted in to promotion,
Colonna said. The average time spent on the site is
about 33 minutes, she said.
“It’s all about delivering an intense experience with
consumers,” Colonna said.
TV spots, in-store displays, banner ad and online
marketing support the promotion.
MTV acts as the creative lead producing promotional
assets for the campaign. Goodby Silverstein & Partners,
Doritos’ agency of record, is acting as creative
consultant and The Marketing Arm handles displays for
Doritos.
