In early 2016, Lay’s sales growth had slumped to a dismal 1% due to a new aggressive entrant into the market.

We were tasked to not only reverse this slowdown, but to regain sales momentum, and rebuild brand love – all while spreading positivity and warmth in people’s lives.

The budget for the project was significantly less than the competitor, and the challenge was massive.

The primary design touch point was the packaging itself, which was overhauled to include a dominant smile placed on the top half of the packet in such a way that a consumer would hold it against their face and thus complete the design.

It was incredibly innovative in a marketplace that is often overcrowded with hundreds of brands, and the fight for standing out on the shelf is brutal.

We worked with existing packaging guidelines and photographed 60 different smiles ranging from the very wide grins to the more demure smirks. The wardrobe choices and other color elements were carefully selected to mirror flavor hints, such as red for spicy.