Pringles—a brand positioned as a “facilitator of fun”—was getting outgunned at retail during one of the biggest events in American sports: the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball tournament, a.k.a. March Madness.

With no official NCAA tournament or team sponsorships to leverage during the March Madness time frame, Pringles Flavor Slam was a creative solution targeting a 10% sales lift by bringing together the sport of basketball, the excitement of the tournament, and the Pringles brand while breaking through the clutter of traditional bracket-focused programs.

At the core of the idea was the transformation of an iconic brand element—the can—into the Pringles Flavor Slam game. Fun, addictive, and incredibly simple, the basketball-like trick shot game brought to life the brand’s tag line “You Don’t Just Eat ’Em” and brought the celebratory excitement of March Madness into the homes of Walmart shoppers using a Pringles can, a miniature can backboard, and a Ping-Pong ball.

In order to promote the game online, a partnership was established with trick-shot artists Dude Perfect to create branded video content, reach Pringles fans and nonfans alike, and drive everyone into Walmart to pick up Pringles and the can backboard.

Dude Perfect created a six-minute video featuring the game and a variety of trick shots that channeled the brand’s playful spirit and lively energy. The video included a call to action, driving shoppers to Walmart to get a can backboard and then create and share their own trick-shot videos on social channels using #FlavorSlam, reinforcing the brand’s shareability and its everyday role as a facilitator of fun.

The Pringles Flavor Slam program proved that you don’t need a big budget to win big during the NCAA March Madness tournament. Flavor Slam earned over 141 million impressions with its Dude Perfect video, logging over 3.7 million views in the first few weeks and spurring hundreds of shoppers and consumers to upload their own trick-shot videos with #FlavorSlam on their own social channels. But the program’s biggest win came at shelf, as it drove a YOY sales lift of 22.2% at Walmart for an ROI of $11.60 USD (€10.52) for every $1 USD spent (€0.91).