Investigating the Effectiveness of the “Doritos 3D | Flat Matthew Super Bowl LV’’ Commercial: A Content Analysis and Text Mining Approach
Preface: I would like to address a recent development regarding the subject matter. It has come to my attention that the Doritos 3D Super Bowl commercial, which served as a significant component of my analysis, has been removed from the official Doritos YouTube channel. However, it’s important to note that the analysis itself was conducted prior to this removal. While the commercial may no longer be available, the findings and observations presented in this blog post remain relevant and valuable.
Introduction
Super Bowl commercials are famous for their ability to captivate audiences and make a lasting impression. One such commercial that stood out during Super Bowl LV 2021 was the Doritos 3D | Flat Matthew commercial, starring Matthew McConaughey and showcasing a distinctive concept and compelling storyline. This commercial not only gained a significant increase in online views and social actions across all platforms but also received a breakthrough score of 687 from iSpot.tv (4% above the norm).
The numbers add up, but what did viewers actually say about the commercial? iSpot.tv reported curiosity as a strong emotion evoked by the commercial, which, suffice it to say, warrants a deeper qualitative analysis. This comprehensive examination aims to assess the commercial’s strengths and weaknesses by analyzing its effectiveness in messaging, storytelling, emotional appeal, surprise elements, brand integration, and cognitive biases. Additionally, I will explore how the commercial aligns with Doritos’ brand story and message. Lastly, I will discuss the findings from my text mining approach applied to YouTube comments, which were scraped from the official Doritos YouTube channel.
Content Analysis
I. Concept, Storyline and Celebrity Endorser Presence
The Doritos 3D commercial presents a fresh and intriguing concept by introducing a futile 2D character, Flat Matthew, who comes to life after consuming a 3D Dorito in a vending machine. The commercial immediately grabs viewers’ attention through the stark contrast in colour and dynamic visuals between the 2D and 3D worlds. Moreover, Matthew’s Texas drawl and charm add an endearing quality to his character. His statement, “Lately, I just haven’t been feeling quite like myself. Life used to feel… fuller,” elicits sympathy from the audience, forging a connection between the character and viewers.
II. Emotional Appeal
The commercial successfully evokes humour and excitement, resonating with viewers on an emotional level. Moments such as Matthew comically attempting to catch a football and getting unexpectedly sucked into a vacuum cleaner provide lighthearted entertainment. The inclusion of Jimmy Kimmel’s humorous question about Matthew travelling by fax adds another layer of amusement. The choice of Queen’s “I Want To Break Free” as background music seamlessly aligns with Flat Matthew’s struggles as a 2D character, enhancing the emotional appeal of the commercial.
III. Surprise Elements
The commercial incorporates surprise elements to maintain viewers’ interest. Unexpected moments, like Matthew’s sudden appearance when called by the barista, contribute to the commercial’s entertainment value and ensure engagement throughout.
IV. Brand Integration and Alignment
The commercial effectively aligns with Doritos’ brand story and message, which are positioned around being funny, inspiring, and adventurous. The commercial exemplifies these characteristics through its humorous narrative and the inspiring transformation of Matthew’s 2D existence into a dynamic 3D character. By embodying Doritos’ brand attributes, the commercial strengthens the connection between the audience and the brand, presumably enhancing brand loyalty and resonance.
V. Cognitive Biases
The marketing team behind the Doritos 3D commercial expertly leveraged cognitive biases to maximize its impact. The prominent presence of the vending machine stacked with Doritos 3D packets is one way of invoking the repeated exposure effect, albeit brief. This effect reinforces the product in viewers’ minds, increasing their familiarity and favorability towards it. Additionally, the commercial effectively employed salience bias on product elements. The 3D shape of the crisps, the distinct sound of the crunch, and the packaging and brand logo colour scheme all contribute to making the product visually and audibly prominent, ensuring it leaves a lasting impression on viewers.
VI. Call-to-action
The excitement continued with the #FlatMatthew call-to-action, which sparked a buzz on TikTok as people created their own versions of the 2D character. This call-to-action was strategically aimed to boost engagement, encourage user-generated content, increase brand visibility and foster a sense of community.
The Doritos 3D | Flat Matthew commercial stands as a memorable entry in the Super Bowl commercial lineup, effectively promoting the product and solidifying Doritos’ position as a creative and innovative brand. However, a fundamental question must be asked:
“Do YouTube viewers find the narrative of Matthew conquering personal challenges as a 2D character by consuming Doritos 3D captivating?”
Text Mining
⚒️ Tools: Coberry, Jupyter Notebook and Excel
📊 Analyses and Python Packages: Word Frequency (NLTK and Scikit-learn), Emoji (Emoji) and Sentiment Analysis (Flair)
✍️ Number of YouTube comments: 1650 (February 2021 — November 2022)
I. Word Frequency Analysis
To start, I conducted word frequency analysis to identify notable word combinations and relevant themes derived from the comments. The first thing I noticed was that YouTube viewers created and shared memes, mash-ups and humorous associations by drawing connections to Flat Stanley and Matthew McConaughey’s previous acting roles.
Viewers made references to Flat Stanley in a humorous way, creating a playful connection between the two unrelated concepts. Flat Stanley is a popular children’s book character created by Jeff Brown. The character, Stanley Lambchop, becomes flattened after being squashed by a bulletin board, acquiring the ability to slide under doors and travel in an envelope. Flat Stanley has gained significant cultural recognition, and people often participate in the “Flat Stanley Project,” where they create a paper cutout of Stanley and send him to different locations, documenting his adventures.
By referencing McConaughey’s past roles and catchphrases (e.g. “The Dallas Buyers Club” and “alright, alright, alright”), viewers are likely expressing their admiration for his acting career, nostalgia for his previous work, and finding humour in the contrast between his iconic status and the quirky concept of the Doritos advertisement.
The song “I Want To Break Free” by Queen was prominently mentioned in the comments. Audiences found solace in this song, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the context of the Doritos commercial featuring Matthew McConaughey as a flattened version of himself navigating everyday life, YouTube viewers may be drawing a parallel between McConaughey’s flat character and the liberation depicted in the music video for “I Want To Break Free.” This connection highlights the humour and the idea of breaking free from lockdowns and returning to normalcy.
The disclaimer “Do not attempt if you’re a 3D person” was highly mentioned, even when presented in small print. The inclusion of the disclaimer helps reinforce the brand identity of Doritos. It adds a touch of humour and uniqueness to the advertisement, making it more memorable for viewers. Considered to be another instance of a salience bias, the disclaimer creates a sense of comedic exclusivity and intrigue by suggesting that the experience is not suitable for “3D people.”
Another noteworthy bigram that emerged from my analysis was “vending machine.” Upon examining the comments, it became apparent that there were predominantly negative associations linked to stealing crisps from vending machines and feeling claustrophobic when Flat Matthew came to life as a 3D person within a vending machine.
Despite providing fruitful insights, it’s worth noting that the most prominent word and word combinations only reveal part of the story. The next step involved computing emoji and sentiment analysis.
II. Emoji Analysis
Emoji analysis revealed mixed sentiment on the Doritos 3D commercial.
Considering instances of the 🤣, 😂 and 👏 emojis in the comments section of the Doritos 3D Super Bowl ad, it suggests that viewers found the ad entertaining, amusing, and worthy of appreciation. However, the prominence of the 🙄 emoji in the YouTube comments suggests that viewers may have found the ad annoying, unimpressive, or perhaps even insincere.
III. Sentiment Analysis
The findings of the Flair sentiment analysis are somewhat consistent with the emoji analysis, indicating a prevalence of negative sentiment in terms of confidence scores, the total number of comments, and the number of liked comments. Moreover, this negative sentiment predominantly persisted over a 6-month timeframe.
The top 5 comments with the highest confidence scores from the YouTube comment section suggest an apparent negative sentiment towards the commercial and the product. Some common themes expressed by the viewers include dissatisfaction with the taste and texture of the new Doritos 3D chips compared to the previous version, concerns about the health implications and negative impact on weight, and disappointment with the flavours offered.
The top 5 liked comments indicate mostly negative sentiment among viewers:
The first two comments express a negative sentiment towards the health implications of Doritos 3D chips, specifically linking them to weight gain. These comments have garnered a substantial number of likes, indicating a shared concern among viewers regarding the potential negative impact on weight.
The third comment stands out among the top-liked comments as a positive sentiment, indicating that viewers empathize with Flat Matthew during the COVID pandemic.
The fourth and fifth comments again express negative sentiment, but they are unrelated to the product itself. One comment criticizes Jimmy Kimmel’s humour, and the other suggests a different name for the commercial. These comments still received a substantial number of likes, suggesting that viewers resonated with these sentiments as well.
Recommendations
Based on the information I’ve collated, here is a list of actionable recommendations for Doritos to address the product-related negative sentiment expressed in the YouTube comment section:
Conduct taste testing sessions: Organize taste testing sessions with target consumers to gather direct feedback on the taste and texture profile of the new Doritos 3D chips. By allowing participants to sample the product, the team can identify any specific taste or texture issues and make necessary improvements.
Communicate health benefits and address concerns: In today’s market, there is a growing demand for better-for-you (BFY) snacks, particularly among younger generations. Therefore, it is crucial for Doritos to consider offering healthier alternatives to align with this trend. In order to enhance transparency in targeted marketing campaigns and advertisements for Doritos 3D chips, it is important to consider two key elements: (1) highlighting positive attributes, such as low-calorie options, reduced fat content, or the use of healthier ingredients, and (2) addressing concerns about health implications and negative impacts on weight by providing factual information about the product.
Expand flavour offerings: Conducting consumer research is paramount in identifying popular flavours and preferences among the target audience. Based on my findings, the company should introduce new flavours or bring back popular flavours from the previous version of Doritos 3D chips to generate excitement and regain consumer interest.
Conclusion
Overall, YouTube viewer reactions to the Doritos 3D commercial were mostly swayed by negative sentiment. Some of the main drawbacks of this commercial were incorporating certain humorous content (e.g. Jimmy Kimmel and Flat Matthew stuck in a vending machine) that didn’t resonate as strongly with the audience. On the other hand, the standout features were Matthew McConaughey’s presence and portrayal of a 2D character, and the emotional appeal of the commercial which provided reassurance during the pandemic.
It’s no secret that snacking has become a permanent part of our lives. To achieve success in advertising and the market, it is crucial to promote healthier snacking options while preserving the signature salty, crispy, and tasty experience that Doritos is renowned for. While viewers appreciated the revival of Doritos 3D Crunch, which evoked nostalgic feelings of the 90s, there were significant concerns raised about the new bold flavours. Hence, it is crucial for marketers to proactively embrace research and social media listening to remain well-informed about consumer preferences and emerging trends.
