Commentary

Let's Get This (Super Bowl) Party Started, With Help From Tostitos

PepsiCo chip and dip brand Tostitos is no stranger to the National Football League or the Super Bowl. It’s the league’s official chip-and-dip sponsor and has taken ads in the big game numerous times.

This year, however, like last year, the brand is taking a different tack.

Instead of an in-game spot, the chip maker is doing a promotion that will keep it front and center of all the hoopla with its “Super Bowl Ads For All” initiative, created with Goodby Silverstein & Partners, that allows Super Bowl party throwers to create personalized invitations.

That’s a lot of invitations—an estimated 50-plus million people throw or attend SB parties each year.

The invite vehicle launched today at Tositos.com, where party throwers can go to compose personalized invitations that include videos that feature themes that have been big hits with viewers in SB spots over the years—babies, puppies, nostalgic celeb cameos, you get the idea.

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Speaking of celeb cameos, director and actor Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton in "Fresh Prince of Bel Air") will be featured in every single ad created. Check out the site here, to get a flavor (so to speak) for what the party throwers can create invite-wise.

By entering a few simple details, hosts can create a custom invite. The ad is then generated with Ribeiro acting as the emcee of the video.

"Tostitos has always been about getting people together for the Super Bowl," stated Pat O'Toole, senior director of marketing, Frito-Lay North America. "The Super Bowl is about so much more than the game itself. People love watching the ads, so this year we wanted to give people the opportunity to create personalized ads for their Super Bowl parties."

Hard to argue with that. I’d love to see the ROI on this promo. And compare it to those plunking down $5 million for a 30-second spot, which is the estimated going rate this year.

Good luck Tostitos. No pressure on your IT folks, because if that invite site crashes, well…on second thought, let’s not even go there.

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