Both Jenna Ortega and Danny Ramirez are about to learn a valuable lesson from Doritos Dinamita and Frito-Lay during Super Bowl 58: Don’t get between a mascot and their food of choice.
During a 60-second ad airing during the third quarter and created by Goodby Silverstein & Partners (GS&P), Ortega and well-coiffed, pantsuited Doritos Dinamita brand characters Dina (Olivia Negron of NCIS and Grey’s Anatomy) and Mita (Patricia Mauceri of The Sopranos and Law & Order) enter a store aisle to find all but one bag of Dinamita gone. Ramirez unapologetically takes the last bag for himself, and this cannot stand. The look aimed at Ramirez by the kindly, but deadly serious Dina and Mita is akin to what the team at Goodby first to PepsiCo when pitching this idea.
“They showed us this picture of these two abuelas and, immediately, the team was like, ‘Oh, man, this is good,’” Chris Bellinger, chief creative officer of PepsiCo Foods US, told ADWEEK. “You get that tingle when you hear an idea that’s going to be really great.”
The two utter their first catch phrase—”Dina. Mita. Vamos”—before ditching Wednesday and Scream star Ortega and, in a blaze of visual effects and seemingly unnecessary destruction, hopping on mobility scooters and barreling after Ramirez. It’s the kind of red-hot fury that can only be fueled by the snack aisle. Stopping only to fawn over a stranger’s baby as they chase Ramirez through an apartment, Dina and Mita use a Razor scooter (now kept as a memento by Bellinger) and electric wires as a zip line and knock the snacks clear out of Ramirez’s hands—reminding him “It’s not dynamite, es Dinamita.”
They offer a warning to those who would dare abscond with their Dinamita Chile Limón or new Flamin’ Hot Queso flavor and freshly introduced Dinamita sticks (including Smoky Chili Queso, Tangy Fiery Lime and Hot Honey Mustard)—“Go Ahead, Try Us.”
Sure, that’s also a lovely invitation to sample any of those new iterations, but Frito-Lay and its parents at PepsiCo want consumers to incur a bit of fiery wrath when snacking. It’s something that Brazilian directing duo ALASKA kept in mind when bringing in Negron and Mauler, who Bellinger said have been friends for more than 30 years through the acting community.
They wanted to create iconic characters, but needed the chemistry, style and personality profiles to pull it off. Dina and Mita had to be the first people you’d want to take shopping or introduce your new baby to… but the last people you’d want to cross.
They also have to connect with the product they’re selling. While prior Doritos Super Bowl campaigns have typically focused on the brand’s traditional tortilla chip—with last year’s Jack Harlow-led tribute to the triangle ranking 13 out of 51 ads on the USA Today Ad Meter—the brand is increasingly acknowledging other palates within its expansive market.
Bellinger noted that the new flavors, the Dina-meter spice-level indicator on the back of bags and the tone of the ad itself all allude to the varied and expanding tastes of Doritos’ market.
“Doritos has built a legacy over the past 24 years with Super Bowl campaigns that feature the highest caliber of talent and innovation, but you’ve never seen us like this before,” said Brett O’Brien, chief marketing officer at PepsiCo Foods North America. “We’re not only bringing the entertainment to fans this year by introducing Dinamita during one of the biggest cultural moments of the year; we’re talking directly to consumers who are on the lookout for something new, different and packed with flavor.”
Cheetos and Doritos made a similarly spicy appeal in 2022 when they brought in Megan Thee Stallion and Charlie Puth for an anthropomorphic animal tribute to Salt-N-Pepa during an ad for their Flamin’ Hot varieties. It placed the spot third in that year’s USA Today Ad Meter.
It also followed years of rising interest in spicy snacks, in general, and some publicly spicy takes about snack companies’ failure to both speak and sell to certain consumers. Ortega noted that Dina and Mita’s “fierce spice” works in this year’s Super Bowl spot because of the diverse cast and crew that made their contribution possible—and the audience they’re addressing.
“It means so much to me to not only star alongside Dina and Mita, but to collaborate with the whole team to bring the story of Dinamita’s explosive flavors to life and to connect with Latin and Hispanic cultures,” Ortega said.
While Bellinger pointed out that Frito-Lay and Doritos have always had roots within Hispanic and Latino communities—the “little golden things” that became Doritos were born at Casa de Fritos at Disneyland in California and first mass-produced by the Mexican-American family behind the Don Miguel Mexican Foods empire—he noted that striking the right tone with the ad meant finding the right people both in front of the camera and behind the scenes to bring it home.
“We wanted that to get brought to life authentically through these powerhouse characters, so they embody the spirit of the flavor, the tonality and the culture,” Bellinger said. “We’re always looking for authentic, relatable and fun ways to represent our bold flavors, but while representing a bold culture as well.”
Vegas buffet
Both PepsiCo and Frito-Lay will be extremely busy heading into Super Bowl weekend.
The Doritos Dinamita spot is just one of three Super Bowl ads from PepsiCo, with Starry making its Super Bowl debut by giving Ice Spice a far kinder pair of mascots—Lem and Lime— while Aubrey Plaza deals with a dragon in teasers for Mountain Dew Baja Blast.
Frito-Lay already released its multi-brand “Taste of the Super Bowl” campaign pairing Ruffles, Doritos, Cheetos and Lay’s with former Super Bowl stars Rob Gronkowski, Marshawn Lynch and Troy Polamalu. It is also heading to the Big Game site in Las Vegas to set up a “Chip Strip” Super Bowl activation at the New York-New York Hotel, which features a Brooklyn Bridge, from Feb. 7 through 11.
Fans in Vegas can play the Frito-Lay Snackpot game, take vows in its Cheetos Chapel and have a seat in a flamin’ hot vehicle on the Vegas Strip. Doritos, meanwhile, wrapped the Luxor in a giant Doritos chip and gave fans a chance to win Super Bowl tickets if they visit the chip and scan it through the Triangle Tracker AR lens on Snapchat through Feb. 10.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins will host a Tostitos-themed pop-up restaurant on the Chip Strip called Tost, and PepsiCo will be testing industrially compostable bags at the site.
Fans in Las Vegas can also pick up free Dinamita snacks at a Doritos Dinamita slot machine on Fremont Street on Feb. 9 and at Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11. On game day, Dina and Mita will appear around Las Vegas during the Super Bowl … a prospect that makes Ramirez nervous.
“While it was a blast to play the antagonist in this story, I will be holding onto my Doritos Dinamita a little tighter from now on,” he joked.
For the latest Super Bowl 58 advertising news—who’s in, who’s out, teasers, full ads and more—check out Adweek’s Super Bowl 2024 Ad Tracker and the rest of our stories here. And join us on the evening of Feb. 11 for the best in-game coverage of the commercials.
CREDITS:
Agencies
Creative: Goodby Silverstein & Partners
Public Relations: Ketchum
Media: OMD
Social: D3
Production Company
Iconoclast
Production Company City: Los Angeles
Director: Alaska
Managing Director: Charles-Marie Anthonioz
Executive Producer: Valerie Romer
Head of Production: Joanna Nelson
Producer: Robert Stark
Director of Photography: Rodrigo Prieto
Production Designer: Taisa Malouf
Costume Designer: Patrik Milani
Editorial Company
Arcade Editorial
VFX/Finishing
The Mill
Color
Colorist: Paul Yacono
Color Producer: Denise Brown
Color Assist: Jacob Suffern, Alexandra Makarenko, Daymian Mejia, Gemma Parr
Data Labs: Ali Soofi, Roman Abulkhanov
Mix
Lime
Cast
Jenna Ortega: Jenna
Olivia Negron: Dina
Patricia Mauceri: Mita
Danny Ramirez: Danny
Conor Macey: Baby
