Doritos: Flat Matthew × Matthew McConaughey
Doritos tasked Goodby, Silverstein & Partners with generating massive buzz for the return of their 3D Crunch snacks during Super Bowl LV. The client needed to differentiate the product from standard chips while capturing the attention of a distracted, pandemic-era audience. The goal was to build high brand recall and excitement through a creative, celebrity-driven narrative that highlighted the product's unique 3D form.
Creative Idea
A 2D celebrity regains his three-dimensional form by eating a new Doritos 3D snack.
To launch the 3D Crunch, Doritos turned Matthew McConaughey into a two-dimensional version of himself. By dramatizing his struggle to feel 'full' again, the brand used surreal humor to highlight the product's unique three-dimensional shape and texture.
The Paper Thin Logistics of Flat Matthew
Orchestrating a Virtual Reunion
Because the production took place during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the creative team faced significant logistical hurdles. Director Damien Chazelle and the team at The Mill had to film Matthew McConaughey, Jimmy Kimmel, and Mindy Kaling separately on green screens. To maintain the illusion of a shared physical space, the VFX team meticulously matched lighting, camera angles, and eyelines in post-production. Alexander Caldish, the 2D lead artist, noted that the primary challenge was translating McConaughey’s signature movements into a convincing 2D representation that still felt grounded in reality.
A Strategic Product Comeback
The campaign served as the high-profile launch vehicle for the return of Doritos 3D Crunch, a modernized iteration of the brand's late-90s snack. The narrative of a "flat" man seeking a "three-dimensional" snack provided a clever, literal metaphor for the product's physical attributes. This surreal approach resonated with audiences, as the ad captured 2.20% of total online activity during Super Bowl LV and generated over 823,500 online views on game day.
Beyond the Screen
The campaign extended well beyond the television spot through a #FlatMatthew TikTok Branded Effect and a Snapchat AR lens that allowed users to interact with a virtual 3D vending machine. In a nod to the cultural inspiration behind the character, Doritos partnered with the estate of Jeff Brown—the author of the *Flat Stanley* books—to donate over 13,000 copies of the series to FirstBook.org. The ad’s physical comedy, particularly the sequence involving a robotic vacuum cleaner, helped secure an 8.0 out of 10 effectiveness score, proving that even a two-dimensional celebrity could drive significant brand engagement.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
Doritos leveraged its iconic status and history of bold, humorous Super Bowl advertising to reintroduce a beloved, unique product.
Category
Snack brands typically rely on generic taste-test imagery or high-energy party scenes to promote new product launches.
Customer
Viewers sought escapism and entertainment during the pandemic, craving a brand that could provide a laugh through absurdity.
Culture
The rise of digital isolation and the popularity of 2D visual effects made the 'Flat Matthew' concept feel culturally relevant.
Company
Doritos leveraged its iconic status and history of bold, humorous Super Bowl advertising to reintroduce a beloved, unique product.
Category
Snack brands typically rely on generic taste-test imagery or high-energy party scenes to promote new product launches.
Strategy:
Use surreal physical transformation to turn a product attribute into a memorable, high-stakes narrative.
Customer
Viewers sought escapism and entertainment during the pandemic, craving a brand that could provide a laugh through absurdity.
Culture
The rise of digital isolation and the popularity of 2D visual effects made the 'Flat Matthew' concept feel culturally relevant.
Strategy:
Use surreal physical transformation to turn a product attribute into a memorable, high-stakes narrative.
Strategy Technique
Create a Parallel World
By placing a flat version of a famous actor into our reality, the brand created a bizarre, ownable universe. This narrative tension made the product's return feel like a necessary, reality-altering event.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Create Fantasy Worlds, People and Things
The campaign physically transformed a celebrity into a 2D character to visually represent the product's core benefit. This surreal execution made the concept of '3D' impossible to ignore.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
This campaign excels through its seamless integration of high-end visual effects and physical comedy, turning a surreal concept into a highly entertaining narrative.
The 2D flattening effect on Matthew McConaughey is flawlessly executed, maintaining realistic textures and lighting while interacting with 3D environments.
Matthew McConaughey delivers a wonderfully deadpan performance, treating his absurd physical limitation with dramatic seriousness.
