Tostitos Avocado Salsa vs. Sabra Hummus

For this week’s blog post, I decided to focus on the genre of food, specifically chips and dip. The classic dip is usually guacamole or salsa, and my favorite, hummus. I was happy to stumble over commercials by Tostitos and Sabra, both brands which I use quite frequently at gatherings. In Tostitos commercial, the brand introduces the diversified product of avocado salsa and how it pairs incredibly with their chips. On the other hand, Sabra played their commercial during the Superbowl to promote their existing product of hummus with the use of well known figures on various platforms.

Sabra Hummus #HowImmus

Sabra aired their first Superbowl commercial this 2020 with the help of the agency VaynerMedia. The commercial included 19 personalities of music, film, internet, and TV personalities within their 30 second spot. Some stars and influencers included were Becky G, Real Housewives of New Jersey cast Teresa Giudice and Caroline Manzo, TikTok queen Charli Damelio, rapper T-Pain and so many others. They shared their favorite ways of eating hummus, asking the audience as well “How Do You ‘Mmus”. This ad was actually Sabra’s way of really introducing Hummus into America as a vegetarian dip that would be paired well with anything.

OBJECTIVE: “From a creative standpoint, we wanted to entertain viewers and position hummus as more relevant, more relatable and more fun than you may have expected” - Jason Levine, Sabra CMO

INSIGHT: Hummus, specifically Sabra Hummus goes with anything and everything.

TACTIC: Sabra in this commercial used a variety of celebrities and influencers to represent that not only does hummus pair with any type of food but any type of person can and will enjoy it as well. The use of influencers and well known personalities allows to reach a wide audience and no specific age group.

TONE: Light hearted, comedic

 

WHAT I LIKED

  • Fun and colorful

  • Use of many known celebrities and influencers which allows to resonate with a wide audience

  • Simple way to show the use of the product (pairs well with many things)

  • Engages the audience by asking what you like to pair with the delicious dip

 
 
 

WHAT I DISLIKED

  • Their lack of research of the meaning of ‘mmus’, which in Arabic means “suck”. Sabra actually received a lot of backlash due to this hashtag and line since it offended many in the Arab community.

  • The use of the phrase and question “How do you ‘mmus” could be used for any other hummus brand.

 
 

Tostitos Avocado Salsa: Good Apart Better Together

Tostitos aired their commercial on January 30th of 2020 and also aired for Superbowl LIV. It included the iconic duo Snoop Dog and Martha Stewart to promote their new dip of avocado salsa and its amazing ability to pair with their Tostitos strips chip. The ad consists of 30 seconds of the two celebrities talking about the product they each were consuming: Snoop with his Chips and Martha with her Avocado Salsa. Snoop dog claims that the products are good apart followed by Martha claiming that they are even better together. After trying, Snoop is convinced. To be honest, this ad wasn’t the most memorable and I wouldn’t say was one of the best either. The ad did a great job explaining what exactly they were promoting and what exactly the consisted of, avocado salsa.

 

OBJECTIVE: To create awareness towards their new product of avocado salsa and its ability to pair well with their chips.

INSIGHT: Tostitos Chips “Strip” are thick enough to carry the perfect amount of creamy avocado salsa, making the two the perfect pair.

TACTIC: Use of celebrities, specifically an iconic duo of Snoop and Martha which reflects the amazing duo of their chips and avocado salsa.

TONE: Light hearted, comedic, descriptive.

WHAT I LIKED

 

  • How informative and descriptive they were being regarding each product

  • Simplicity of the ad

  • Use of colors and background that represents the difference in the two celebrities. It shows that despite their contrasts, they still work well together just like the two products.

 
 
 

WHAT I DISLIKED

  • A bit bland and not very entertaining of an ad which is why it wasn’t really memorable for me.

  • Only a certain amount of people would know that Martha and Snoop Dog are actually best friends in real life so it could be questionable to others who don’t know that why they used those two celebrities.

 

OVERALL THOUGHTS

I really enjoyed Sabra’s ad more just because of how lively it was and how its use of multiple known faces intrigued me and put me on the look out for which celebrity would come out next. In essence, Sabra’s ad had great tactics, was definitely more engaging and entertaining due to how it also asked the audience a question. Their way of showing that product could pair well with anything was also more creative due to the use of the various faces. Tostitos was much more chill and their ad was descriptive. It did a great job of addressing the message and purpose of the video with the use of just two celebrities who are an iconic duo.

Nicole Castro