Super Bowl Ads: Doritos crunches narrative structure
The two Super Bowl ads from previous years that I chose were the 2013 and 2014 Doritos ads. The 2014 version titled “Cowboy Kid” depicts a mother asking what appears to be her two sons to help with unloading the groceries. The older boy rudely refuses until the two learn about the Doritos their mother bought. The two boys race to see who will get the Doritos and the younger son, dressed as a cowboy, lassos the Doritos out of his older brother’s hand while riding their dog like a horse. The commercial concludes with the “cowboy kid” tying up his older brother while the mom cheers him on and the dog’s nose is in the Doritos bag.
The 2013 version titled “Goat 4 Sale” shows a man, eating Doritos and walking down the street when he comes across a man in a neck brace with a goat eating Doritos and a sign that says “Goat 4 Sale.” The man eagerly brings the goat home and shows him his cabinets full of Doritos. The goat is then shown constantly eating through 156 bags of Doritos until the man becomes fed up and hides all of the Doritos in a room the following day making the goat angry, causing the goat to break the man’s things. The goat is then shown finding the man making a “Goat 4 Sale” sign of his own in the room full of Doritos bags and the commercial concludes with the goat closing the door with the man trembling in fear.
I feel like the two ad’s have the same tone, which is humorous. The 2014 ad targets both adults and children while the 2013 ad targets mostly adults. The company in the ad is identified immediately in both commercials by the iconic Doritos bag. The “Cowboy Kid” commercial has full narrative structure. There is a complete exposition being the mom asking for help, rising action being the race to the Doritos, climax being when the older brother gets the bag and resolution of the younger brother getting the Doritos and tying up his brother. “Goat 4 Sale” does not have a complete narrative structure as there is a exposition when the man buys the goat and shows him the Doritos, rising action of when the goat is eating all of the chips and a climax of when the goat finds the man and closes the door. There is no resolution in this ad.
Even though I believe both ads have a strong narrative, I believe the “Cowboy Kid” 2014 ad is slightly stronger due to the fact that it has a complete narrative structure because it shows a resolution. I think that 2013’s “Goat 4 Sale” is strong because it leaves you hanging and you want to know more, resulting in both commercials catching and keeping the viewer’s attention. I feel like people are more likely to share the 2014 Doritos ad titled “Cowboy Kid” because it’s adorable with both the kids and dog, as well as humorous for parents because they can relate in the sense of asking for help and the mom ultimately cheering on her favorite kid.
