Welcome to doritos-viralocity.com - the blog that examines Doritos Viralocity - the new viral marketing contest from Doritos®!

Doritos® is at it again with a new video contest they’ve termed, “Doritos Viralocity”.

Our pick for quality and catchiness of video, and name is "Buzz'd":

Watch it on YouTube: Get Buzz'd on Doritos Viralocity
Watch it on Viralocity: Doritos Buzz'd

The question however, is…what the heck is "Doritos Viralocity"? Unlike their 2009 video contest, which was based on votes and a judging panel, Doritos Viralocity appears to be based strictly on the number of views a video receives. Participants are required to submit a video and a name for the newest flavor from Doritos®.

All of this is good and bad news for Doritos®. The good news is that going “viral” is what the web is all about. Doritos Viralocity is designed to let the web do what it does best. Funny and amusing videos are passed around the Internet by the millions every day. This is a great method of harnessing that marketing potential and clearly Doritos Viralocity is a winning idea.

However, under the new criteria Doritos® is also stuck with what they get. Whether the winning video and/or flavor name have any real value to them at all is very much in question. As of our last update, Surge is the front-runner and while it is somewhat amusing and a well produced video, it features YouTube sensation Peter Chao, a fictitious Asian "Superstar". Harmless enough, but a quick look at his YouTube channel and one is overwhelmed by his use of the F-word and his derogatory designation for women as "B*%ches". Clearly this is a character that not everyone is going to appreciate.

Is Doritos really going to want to attach their brand to this type of messaging and Peter Chao's own established brand? Likely not, but they may not have a choice given the way they've structured their contest. These videos in general are most likely leading in points because, as Doritos Viralocity requires, their creators are very much wired into the web. He/She with the most Facebook friends, Twitter or YouTube contacts and subscribers wins. The issue is whether or not that should be enough to “cut the mustard”.

Doritos Viralocity is all about building momentum on the web for Doritos® newest un-named flavor. In the short-term it’s brilliant, but as previously stated, long-term it could work against them. What if the video is being viewed simply because friends are telling friends to view it so that they win the Doritos Viralocity contest? If the name has no appeal and the video concept is poor, what will be the lasting impact of Doritos® latest incarnation of its video contest?

Time will tell. Doritos Viralocity runs in Canada from February 14, 2010 to March 31, 2010.

For more information on the contest visit: Doritos Viralocity

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