A brand mission for Doritos is to empower individuals to make bold choices and to truly be themselves. Being an ally to the LGBTQ+ cause is meaningful, as this is one of the communities most impacted by societal stereotypes, which limits their freedom of expression. Not to mention the sad fact that Brazil still holds the top spot worldwide in number of murders of trans people. Therefore, aligning with a cause becomes essential to promote sustainable and socially responsible business growth. To that end, Doritos launched a LGBTQ+ campaign, #RespectMyIdentity.
Objective
After partnering with the LGBTQ+ community for over six years, Doritos Rainbow has once again gone above and beyond. In 2022, the brand's challenge was to innovate not only by increasing visibility and empowering the community through its communications, but also with impactful initiatives that would generate relevance in the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals.
It advocated for respect towards gender identity and provocatively rallied alongside the community following a transphobic national ID card bill in addition to solidifying its image as an allied brand and enhancing its positive image with consumers.
As the only snack brand consistently advocating for the LGBTQ+ community, Doritos proves that when companies commit to a social cause, that yield results for both the business and society.
Context
The year 2022 was the sixth consecutive year of Doritos Rainbow's commitment to the LGBTQ+ cause. And it was the year when the Brazilian federal government announced a new national ID card model that placed the fields "gender" and "name of record" above the social name. This could cause embarrassment to trans and non-binary people who were unable to have their documents rectified.
Doritos, as a brand that's both an ally and actively involved in the cause, couldn't let this bill turn into law.
Creative and Media Strategy
The brand's global stance, "for the bold," aimed to elevate the breaking of outdated norms and logic, such as gender binarity.
Which is why, more than just a traditional demographic slice, its target audience consists of young adults who feel stifled by societal standards, whose sense of identity evolves constantly, and who long to be free to express themselves.
To generate the necessary awareness and engagement for the campaign, the brand activated it on digital platforms, aiming to lead people to the petition led in partnership with ANTRA, the National Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals. Doritos also activated strategic OOH locations to amplify the reach of the campaign's message.
#RespectMyIdentity was launched; the powerful campaign was created, narrated, acted, directed, and produced by trans and LGBTQ+ individuals, demanding respect for their identities and inviting signatures for the petition. Linn da Quebrada, the campaign's protagonist, shone a spotlight on the issue when, while taking part in Big Brother Brazil that same year, the entire country saw other participants disrespect Linn's pronouns. Situations like these, which may seem "simple" to cisgender people, are extremely uncomfortable for trans and nonbinary individuals. For this moment, in addition to the hero film, the brand activated dailies on Twitter and TikTok to drive a lot of buzz and expose the severity of the situation.
The brand also engaged with allies through a virtual petition as well as took the message to Spotify and brought three trans artists, Linn da Quebrada, Urias, and Liniker, to talk about the topic on Flow, the biggest podcast in Brazil.
Doritos organized signature collection drives across the country in partnership with the NGOs that Doritos Rainbow supports. The brand was backed by trans creators, who engaged the public even more to continue showing their support while the process lasted. Doritos kept the cause alive during the months between launching the class action and the trial of the case. Further, the brand took part in and sponsored important events for the LGBTQ+ community, where we collected even more signatures.
Overall sales reached beyond the "rainbow" product. However, many people, invested in the cause and in the brand's equity, ended up purchasing more products from the portfolio. This halo effect boosts overall sales.
After the campaign and petition with ANTRA, the brand successfully stopped the transphobic national ID card bill. The brand also provided funding of $1 million for the rectification of the names on the ID cards of approximately 800 trans individuals. This accounts for over 25 percent of all name rectifications for trans individuals in Brazil in a year.
When it comes to brand image results, Doritos had the highest recall as being primarily linked with the cause.
