Pass The Pringles: Turning A Snack Into A Social Signal

Pringles is renowned for its witty since of humour, playful approaches to work, and immaculate moustache-wearing mascot. It's also well aware of its moreish qualities too - something it never shies aware from.

The near 60-year-old brand kicked off this year with the introduction of a new European brand platform ‘Pass The Pringles’, honing down on the insight that the snack is best enjoyed when shared with others (its cylinder canisters designed to insist on communal use).

And it is once again returning to its comical routes alongside creative agency AMV BBDO, that sees two acrobatic window cleaners going to extraordinary lengths to pass a tube of Pringles while suspended halfway up a skyscraper to John Parr’s iconic 80s hit, 'St Elmo’s Fire'.

It is quite literally turning a physical gesture into a cultural one.

To learn more, Ben Perez Usher, creative director at AMV BBDO discusses the makings of the work and the lengths the teams went to pull off such a stunt.

Creative Salon: How did the work come about? 

Ben Perez: Pringles are one of the most iconic brands out there, but since the days of ‘Once You Pop You Can’t Stop’, they had slipped out of cultural conversation.

Not enough people had Pringles top of mind when they were buying snacks. They were buying Pringles for specific occasions, like Christmas in the UK, rather than as an everyday purchase.

So we needed a new European brand platform which would get people talking about Pringles again.

What was the brief behind bringing this new brand platform together?

Pringles’ purpose is ‘We exist to bring people together.’

But the dynamics of modern life mean too many opportunities for connection are passing us by. On the train, we’re doomscrolling on our phones. At lunch, we’re eating al desko. Even when we’re together, we’re often somewhere else.

So the brief was - how can Pringles encourage people to playfully connect with each other?

What inspired looking into fan truths with this work, with Pringles being enjoyed when shared?

Sharing is a well-known snack trope. What made this insight feel fresh rather than familiar?

The best creative ideas are based on truth, and for Pringles, the truth that consumers kept telling us in research was that Pringles aren’t just made to be eaten, they’re made to be shared.

With other crisps, the bag means it’s for one person. If you want to share, you have to do the ‘let’s rip the bag open and put it on the table’ dance.

Whereas Pringles are different, the tube is literally designed to share.

And that’s how ‘Pass The Pringles’ was born. A platform built around a simple gesture.

You hold out the tube, someone takes one, and bam, you’ve connected.

It’s an idea only Pringles can do.

Obviously the main hero film has two people scaling a building — how was this filmed? What were the logistics like?

We worked with Cannes Grand Prix-winning director collective Traktor, which was an amazing experience. We shot the window cleaners hero film and all the accompanying social content in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Our two lead actors had the rare ability to do two things at once. Be funny. And hang a long way off the ground on a safety harness.

It was a proper stunt shoot. We had drone cameras to give us the sense of scale, and a stunt choreographer to teach the actors the exact combination of spins, somersaults, and leaps we needed for each shot.

My main takeaway was it’s trickier than you think to pop Pringles into your mouth one-handed whilst swinging away from a skyscraper…

Tell us about the music choice — why choose such an iconic track?

With attention at a premium, we needed to get people across Europe to look up from their second screens, and stop their thumbs online. Music’s a huge part of that.

We tried over 150 tracks before landing on ‘St Elmo’s Fire’ by the legend that is John Parr.

Such an iconic track instantly makes you stop whatever you’re doing, and enjoy the entertaining story of two acrobatic window cleaners Passing the Pringles to each other halfway up a building.

How did you ensure the idea could stretch beyond the hero film into other channels without becoming just a tagline?

Passing the Pringles is a universal gesture. Wherever and whenever it happens, it’s an invitation to connect.

That’s what makes 'Pass the Pringles' an idea that works in every channel. It doesn’t rely on dialogue, or a specific cultural reference, which is key when the work had to entertain people across 13 European countries.

As well as the hero film, more than 680+ pieces of creative were made to launch the platform, including influencer and PR.

We created a suite of social films showing Pringles being passed between friends and families across everyday moments, from gaming to football. We also made bold out-of-home and social assets featuring everyone from astronauts and aliens to gamers and festivalgoers, all connected by the act of Passing the Pringles.

Whenever and wherever people are together, someone can Pass the Pringles.

Which is why we don’t see it as just a tagline, it’s an action.

As a creative, what’s it like to work with a brand that embraces the funny side and looks to make work that really taps into that?

Getting to work with an iconic brand like Pringles is what every creative gets into advertising for. We had every team in the building putting their hand up to try and crack the brief, which is a great sign.

But people don’t care about brands. If you want them to care, you have to do something that’s relevant to them.

With 'Pass the Pringles', we’re entertaining them, we’re making them smile, and then we’re attaching that feeling to a gesture they recognise from their own lives.