Part of the appeal of Doritos Ketchup was that they were new and only going to be around for a limited amount of time. And when they sold out, getting your hands on a bag was all the more exciting. To re-ignite the excitement and exclusivity of Doritos Ketchup, we started thinking about what other limited edition products we could align ourselves with.

We found our answer in streetwear. The “drop” is a term used to describe an exclusive or limited-edition product launch in streetwear culture. Getting their hands on the hottest, limited items is a way of life for our target. We chose to tap into this obsession by treating our annual Ketchup launch like a popular streetwear brand would – with an exclusive “drop”. The creative idea was to create an exclusive collection of clothing and accessories inspired by Doritos Ketchup chips.

To announce the collection, we released a look book showcasing our designs with photography captured by famed Canadian street photographer, Jamal Burger (Jayscale), and featuring millennial artists and fashion influencers as our models. Our collection was launched in phases and could be purchased online through weekly drops at DoritosDrop.ca. When an item sold out fans could enter a contest for a chance to win the full collection.

The campaign was supported by promoted posts across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as well as through robust media relations and influencer plans. But most importantly, our hope was that our collection would be covetable enough to get written and talked about positively by the fashion and style publications, blogs and influencers our audience looks to for the latest limited-edition items.

The campaign received over 89 million earned impressions valued at over $1.5 million – almost 3x our paid media budget. Our collection was covered by top tastemakers in streetwear culture including High Snobiety, HypeBeast, and Complex. We’ve even caught the NBA’s attention when the Toronto Raptors gifted the Portland Trailblazers with a few exclusive pieces from the collection.

And most importantly, the enthusiasm for our collection translated to a renewed excitement for the chips. After seeing sales dip last year for the first time since bringing back Ketchup, in 2018 not only have we exceeded projected sales but year over year sales have gone up as well. So far this year, total Ketchup sales are up 16% versus forecast and up 3% versus year ago. Once again, Doritos Ketchup is back and so is the excitement.