‘PepsiCo’s snack-food empire is under attack by satirical videos.
It started earlier this month with a spoof video from the environment group SumOfUs, depicting a typical rom-com couple who meet cute by reaching for the last Doritos chip in a bowl. They proceed to have a Doritos-filled romance—breakfast in bed with Doritos cereal, a Christmas tree with Doritos ornaments, a candlelit bath for two in a tub filled with Doritos—before going on a trip to see a “Doritos Forest,” which turns out to be a smoldering ruin carved out of the jungle. “Doritos,” reads the tag line. “May contain traces of rainforest.”
PepsiCo was not amused. After the video received more than 1.5 million views on YouTube, the company fired back last week by dismissing it as a stunt “focused on fiction rather than facts.” Then, on Tuesday, came another environmentalist salvo from the Rainforest Action Network, this time targeting another popular snack in the Pepsi pantry: Quaker Oats Chewy Bars. The campaign features a photo of a pouty little boy in a striped shirt, his arms crossed in anger, with a box of chewy bars in the background. “Pepsico,” the ad declares, “you need a time out!”‘