To match the “mix” theme of Doritos’ newest snack, we took a mixed approach to campaign tactics—all rooted in gaming to appeal to one of Doritos’ largest audiences. The campaign ran against three massive deliverables, with different mechanisms for driving awareness: a responsive web sweepstakes hub, featuring branded arcade games playable for entries; a custom-built, internet-connected arcade claw machine, played democratically by the community and well-known influencers live via Twitch; and the world’s largest (unofficially) playable arcade cabinet at E3, the year’s biggest gaming event for fans and industry players alike.

To begin, our UX and tech teams set off on two paths: building a working prototype (small- and full-scale) of an internet-connected claw machine—custom build with Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and other technologies—and updating classic arcade games to be responsive and gesture-controlled across browsers and devices. The games also had to be scaled up significantly and slightly altered to be controlled by giant physical joysticks and buttons for the execution at E3, where we also placed our original four games into physical arcade cabinets with new levels included for a more engaging experience.

Twitch Plays The Claw included placements on Twitch driving gamers to join community efforts led by game-streaming influencers. The activation lasted for eight days with seven different influencers leading the community in their collective efforts to win prizes.

The custom arcade games were intended to live for eight weeks on DoritosMix.com; however, the success from the gameplay on the site led to more games at E3 in arcade cabinets and on the big screen on the Doritos Mix stage, all along with new levels. Twitch Plays The Claw was not only one of the first such Twitch Group Play experiences launched by a major brand, it also further cemented Doritos’ place in the gaming community, with feedback overwhelmingly positive and high levels of engagement.

Doritos Mix Arcade Website:

8-week promotion

323,846 unique website sessions

3.5 million page views

10.9 pages viewed per session

350,000 total games played

6:21 average time spent per session

20% of all visitors registered accounts

926,000 instant win entries

Twitch Plays The Claw:

8-day promotion

12,000 unique participants

226,000 commands entered

187 prizes won

2,618 new Twitch followers for Doritos