SITUATION: Pringles' consideration is low among Americans under 35. They default to “cooler” brands like Doritos. As a result, in a growing category, Pringles’ sales were falling behind the competition.

BRIEF & OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to entice millennials to the Pringles brand. To get Millennials grabbing a Pringles can when a salty snack craving hit. Ultimately, we needed to break through and increase trial and penetration with this target. However, we knew the task would be tough since this audience notoriously dislikes advertising and responds more positively to honest, transparent brand communication. Thus, it was vital to be honest and even self-aware

The primary target audience was Americans under 35. This group is more skeptical of advertising than any generation – 84% don’t trust it. 46% pay for ad blockers. When it comes to getting this group’s attention, traditional advertising doesn’t always work. But how do you advertise to people who dislike advertising? We created entertainment they’d engage with. We partnered with two characters this generation knows and loves. And, using these characters, we engaged with the audience across media channels they’d be using: Our TVC ran for the duration of 2020 on Adult Swim. MortyBot appeared across social, targeting Millennials. Pickle Rick Pringles was a new flavor we knew they’d buy and even keep as a collector’s item. We created a Snapchat Lens and Instagram filter and partnered with the show’s mobile game, which millions among this generation plays. A real-life Pringles MortyBot even showed up at Adult Swim Con.

Rick and Morty are known for traveling to terrifying universes. So, in 2020, we trapped them in the worst universe imaginable: Advertising. In this hellscape dimension where everything is marketing, they got trapped in our TVC. A Twitterbot Morty got trapped on social, schilling Pringles on the addiest night of the year: SuperBowl. MortyBot then got trapped as an interactive character in the PocketMorty mobile game, and as an Instagram filter and Snapchat lens. A real-life MortyBot also punted Pringles at Adult Swim Con. Plus, Rick’s alter-ego, Pickle Rick, got trapped in a new flavor, Pickle Rick Pringles. Two additional R&M flavors, “Honey Mustard Morty” and “Look at Me! I’m Cheddar and Sour Cream” followed. Together, R&M and Pringles leveraged the power of the multiverse to cut through across a range of media. The shamelessness of Rick and Morty’s commercialization remained authentic for Millennials, who embraced the partnership enthusiastically.

The campaign generated 1.3B earned media impressions, 97M organic social impressions and 27M organic views. Pringles trended on Reddit the week of launch. It was the #1 Liked Super Bowl campaign on YouTube. Pickle Rick Pringles was the #3 trending item on eBay the week of launch. This helped create a 52% sales lift during that period. While all competitors saw their household penetration decrease in 2020, Pringles’ household penetration grew by $1.4 million the same year. And overall, Pringles grew +13% in GSV (gross sales volume) in 2020, which was a record for the brand.