We were tasked with launching Doritos’ ‘hot’ new collaboration with the iconic home of flame-grilling, Burger King.

An epic pairing, but with 1 in 3 FMCG product launches failing, and a news agenda full of brand collabs, we needed to find a way to communicate that Flame-Grilled Whopper Flavour Doritos had arrived in a way that couldn’t become part of the background noise.

Following weeks of teaser content and social interaction that we’d orchestrated between the home of flame-grilling and the home of tortilla chips to drive hype and intrigue - from swapping logos and bios on Twitter, to replying to each other’s social posts, to dropping burger and triangle emojis in reply to people who’d guessed what we were up to - we finally confirmed that the rumours were true... there was ‘no smoke without fire’...

On the day product hit stores, outside a Burger King restaurant in North East England, while the restaurant’s chefs flame grilled Whoppers inside, we flame grilled a 200 square foot Doritos billboard outside.

In one impactful visual image, this meant we were able to bring to life the unique properties of the two brands, and instantaneously communicate that Doritos was collaborating with Burger King to launch Flame Grilled Whopper Flavour Doritos.

With no budget for TV at launch, and a paid plan weighted towards the end of the campaign window, the PR channel was more important than ever at launch, if not critical.

Our research had identified that OOH was a white space we could disruptively make our mark. Over 60% UK adults reported they rarely pay attention to billboards, and are finding traditional advertising harder and harder to understand.

So on the day product hit shelves, we made a statement with a deceptively simple OOH stunt designed to cut-through, and instantaneously land the message and unique attributes that made this collaboration so desirable. Combining Doritos’ bold brand and distinctive triangle chips with Burger King’s flame-grilling flavour expertise, this mesmerising stunt left no question in anyone’s mind about what they were seeing, paving the way for other channels to convert to purchase.

We had just 30 seconds to flame grill the billboard and one chance to capture it.

Execution had to be flawless.

We needed to control speed and position of the burn, leaving our iconic triangle chips visible until the last moment. We tested 10+ types of paper and created an entirely new paragel formula with meticulous attention to its application. 25 test burns were conducted over 4 different billboard sizes.

After multiple design rounds, a custom mobile unit was built ensuring adaptability for location and resilience to wind and rain (both of which were present on the day).

Full environmental, health and safety assessments were undertaken, particularly given the public location. The position of the billboard was chosen to maximise impact but minimize danger and disruption, with a private fire crew standing by.

We used AdGreen to measure environmental impact and committed a percentage of budget to offset carbon usage.

In its first week Whopper Doritos became the bestselling Doritos flavour in the UK (UROS) with only the Flaming Billboard live in earned at the time, and no paid support except a YouTube masthead boosting the Flaming Billboard assets.

The Doritos Flaming Billboard smashed KPIs generating nearly 820 million impressions (vs. 500m target) across over 185 pieces of coverage globally. National coverage across ITV1, Heart Radio, the Daily Express, Daily Star, The Mirror, The Sun and The Metro drove hype about the “lip-smacking collaboration” and reinforced perceptions of Doritos as the boldest brand in snacking.

Social set ablaze with over 700 article shares and content was boosted to reach over 10 million people.

In total over £1.8mm of advertising was earned, and Google search for Doritos and Burger King sky-rocketed up 66%.

Two weeks later, 7mm over 18s in the UK still remember the stunt, reaching far beyond the billboard’s organic footfall.

What’s more, with the Flaming Billboard designed in part to resonate with Gen Z (a key Doritos target) via entertaining and engaging multi-channel assets, research showed that 1 in 3 Gen Zs saw the billboard (31%), with a whopping 94% instantly understanding what this unusual advert was trying to tell them (versus 83% of the nation).

55% of Gen Z and 20% of the UK public are now more likely to try the product, and over half (52%) feel more engaged with the two brands as a result.