“Live From the Upside Down” is relevant for the Brand Experience & Activation Lions because the campaign is centered around a first-of-its-kind concert experience. It was a legitimate 34-minute concert streamed live across America on June 23 on Doritos’ YouTube. It brought back beloved musicians from the ‘80s and today in the first concert performed in an alternate dimension. The concert featured iconic '80s hits "We Got the Beat" and "Our Lips are Sealed" from The Go-Go's, Corey Hart's "Sunglasses at Night" and "Never Surrender," Soft Cell performing "Tainted Love" as a surprise duet with decade-defying pop star Charli XCX.

We were tasked with creating an engaging collaboration that would resonate with “Stranger Things” fandom and capitalize on the Season 4 moment in pop culture. How could Netflix and Doritos create content that would excite fans as much as another episode from their favorite series?

Doritos' challenge was finding new ways to stay relevant in pop culture, garnering the attention of Gen Z, who are driving the growth of their subcategory, and gaining market share ultimately. The brand strives for disruptive and breakthrough ideas that make Doritos pulse in culture, and Netflix’s “Stranger Things” Season 4 helped activate just that. Netflix's challenge was keeping fans engaged throughout the two-part "Stranger Things" Season 4.

Overall, the partnership leveraged both Doritos' ties to the '80s and “Stranger Things” homage to the era, staying true to both brands shared heritage while exciting modern audiences.

For the “Stranger Things” S4 launch, we turned bags of Doritos into portals to the Upside Down for fans to attend the first music concert streamed from another dimension: “Live From The Upside Down.” Your favorite ‘80s artists didn’t fall into obscurity. They were dragged into an alternate universe, where they’ve been until Doritos opened the portal to the Upside Down.

The 34-minute live-streamed concert featured iconic '80s hits "We Got the Beat" and "Our Lips are Sealed" from The Go-Go's, Corey Hart's "Sunglasses at Night" and "Never Surrender," and Soft Cell performing "Tainted Love" as a duet with decade-defying pop star Charli XCX.

The concert included hidden easter eggs: BMX Bikes, Upside Down creatures Demogorgons and Demobats, a "Dig Dug" arcade cabinet, half-buried TVs, Walkie-Talkies, etc. The TVs play a loop of VHS static with sporadic clips from "Stranger Things" 4 and authentic Doritos ads from the '80s playing.

For Doritos, the main goal was finding interesting new ways to stay relevant in pop culture. For Netflix, the key objective was getting fans excited for the fourth season of "Stranger Things." Both Doritos and Netflix targeted a younger generation hungry for new things, even if that meant igniting a new sense of nostalgia for the '80s.

By partnering with Netflix's "Stranger Things" 4, Doritos demonstrated the power of bringing audiences back in time to move the brand forward. Doritos has deep ties with the '80s, and "Stranger Things" is an ode to those years. So the partnership needed to excite people today while being true to our shared heritage.

Doritos partnered with Netflix's "Stranger Things" for a first-of-its-kind virtual concert: "Live From The Upside Down." We marketed it like a concert, from the mythology of Doritos Music Fest '86 to artist promos, press interviews, line-up posters, exclusive merch & digital integrations.

Besides loads of backstory content that brought fans into the story and teaser films from Gen Z darling Charli XCX, we printed tickets on thousands of special-edition bags.

The livestream featured iconic '80s hits & "Stranger Things" special effects and monsters, making it appear like the bands were playing LIVE from the Upside Down.

Timeline:

4/25-5/9: packaging, TikTok teasers, backstory video & snacks.com microsite live.

5/10-6/23: lineup promos on social media and CTVs, merch, wild postings, and Charli XCX stage tour on TikTok.

6/23: Charli XCX, Soft Cell, Corey Hart, and The Go-Go’s perform in the Upside Down for a 34-minute ‘live-streamed’ concert on Dorito's YouTube.

We turned engagement into sales & sales into engagement. Doritos sales lifted 11% & 10% in Doritos & Doritos 3D, with 303.4 MILLION VIEWS, 365K+ concert invite scans, 22.5K+ YouTube Live chat messages, & an unprecedented average view duration. All exceeded benchmarks & records set by entertainment events. It also got 4.46 BILLION PR IMPRESSIONS & 582 earned placements, making it the #1 SHARE OF VOICE across ALL Stranger Things 4 partnerships.

The partnership also helped Doritos capture a +1pt lift in market share, with an annualized value of $45 million. Moreover, Stranger Things S4 became a cultural phenomenon, garnering 1.35 billion hours viewed in the 1st 28 days, as well as Americans' Favorite TV show & Most-Streamed Program of 2022.

Ultimately, the collaboration heightened the benchmark of what two iconic brands can accomplish, demonstrating how heritage, music, and world-building created an unforgettable experience that drives engagement, sales, and culture.

"Stranger Things" is an '80s-set US TV series that combines sci-fi and horror elements. Set in a small town, friends face supernatural mysteries, including a parallel dimension called the "Upside Down" with a dangerous creature known as the Demogorgon.

Corey Hart, a Canadian singer-songwriter, rose to prominence in the '80s with pop-rock hits like "Sunglasses at Night" and "Never Surrender," one of Canada's most successful ‘80s artists.

The Go-Gos, an all-female American rock band, gained popularity in the early '80s. Known for their catchy punk-inspired music, hits like "Our Lips Are Sealed" and "We Got the Beat" propelled them to success.

Soft Cell, a British synth-pop duo with vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball, had a breakthrough hit with "Tainted Love," a global smash in the '80s.

Charli XCX, a British singer-songwriter known for experimental pop music, is considered a leading voice in contemporary pop, gaining 2010's acclaim.