Last March in this column space, I wrote about Lay’s and its “Do Us a Flavor” campaign, which asked consumers to come up with interesting new chip flavors to then be voted on by the public. The winning chip would stay on shelves and the creator would win a million bucks.
It was a publicity stunt that apparently paid off pretty well because the contest has returned this year. The contest relies mostly on social media to vote, and numerous regular media outlets (including this one) covered the 2013 campaign, even if only to make fun of it. Last year, I’m fairly sure Lay’s included a Chicken & Waffles flavored chip solely because they knew throwing a truly bizarre flavor concept into the mix would stir up even more buzz because all the smart-asses who work in the media (including this one) would jump all over it. (For what it’s worth, the boring Cheesy Garlic Bread chip won last year’s contest, totally robbing the way more delicious Sriracha flavored chip.)
Perhaps most importantly for Lay’s, most of the exposure the previous Do Us a Flavor contest received was effective and didn’t cost the company much. Online word-of-mouth is, of course, a far cheaper way to advertise your company than, say, buying TV commercials.
The contest returns this year with a little bit of a bigger scope. There are now four flavor contenders (instead of last year’s three), which were unveiled on Good Morning America: Cheddar-Bacon Mac & Cheese, Cappuccino, Mango Salsa and Wasabi Ginger. The contest also got a TV boost from the Food Network’s Rewrapped show, on which chefs created unique dishes to match up with each of the flavor finalists. The chips’ distribution seemed much better this year, as well. Last year I was unable to locate the Cheesy Garlic Bread chips before deadline, even after going to seven different stores. This year’s offerings were readily available in nearly every store I visited.
My favorite flavor from this year’s competition is Wasabi Ginger presented on a crispy “Kettle Cooked” chip. (Last year, all of the finalists were plain ol’ Lay’s chips; this year, the offerings expanded to other textures.) Wasabi (for those who don’t know, it’s the green paste served with sushi) has a powerful, distinct, spicy taste that shines as a chip flavoring. They have the kick of hot barbecue chips, so if you’re crazy and don’t like spicy foods, these are not the chips for you.
The Cheddar-Bacon Mac & Cheese flavor sounded promising but, while tasty enough, it’s pretty much just a cheddar cheese-flavored chip; the twinge of bacon flavoring is barely noticeable. Going by last year’s contest winner, which also just tasted like a cheese-flavored chip (the garlic part was way too buried), this one will win. My heart says Wasabi should win, but if I were placing a bet in Vegas (and you just know they’re taking bets on this in Vegas), I’d put everything on Mac & Cheese.
The most interesting flavor (in a positive way) this year is Mango Salsa, which uses Lay’s “Wavy” style of chip (thicker, with ridges). The “salsa” flavor is light, while the fruity mango taste dominates. But it isn’t too strong, it creeps up gently.
Finally, occupying the “Chicken & Waffles Memorial Flavor” slot is Cappuccino. It’s the flavor that makes people go, “Ewwww,” and gives bloggers something to write about in horror/disgust. While I readily dug into each bag of the other chips in the contest, the Cappuccino chips (I even managed to find a small bag, in the interest of not throwing food away) sat on my kitchen counter for a couple of weeks. I had a hard time bringing myself to taste them, despite loving cappuccino and many non-coffee coffee-flavored products (as a kid, for some reason I absolutely loved coffee-flavored yogurt, ice cream and milkshakes, despite despising coffee).
Perhaps I’m still having a hard time shaking the bad memories of Pecan Pie Pringles? As a rule, I’ve found that trying to combine sweetness with salted chips never ends well. (Unless they are chocolate-dipped; those are amazing.) But the Cappuccino chips aren’t as scary as they sound, mostly because the salt factor is toned down. The coffee taste comes through instantly, then gives way to the potato flavor. (Despite the appearance of cinnamon sticks on the packaging, a cinnamon flavor doesn’t come into play at all.)
It’s an interesting novelty that has scored the contest and Lay’s a ton of press, but the Cappuccino chips are the Rick Perry of the Do Us a Flavor contest. People will talk about them a lot, usually to make fun of them, but in the end they’ll be among the worst performers in the final vote tally.
To vote, visit dousaflavor.com for info.
CONTACT mike breen: mbreen@citybeat.com or
@CityBeatMusic
This article appears in Sep 17-23, 2014.