Doritos hacks football history
AlmapBBDO/Sao Paulo asks was Ronaldo’s iconic 2002 haircut a secret triangle?
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In the summer of 2002, Brazil’s Ronaldo Nazário took the pitch with a haircut that would become as legendary as his goals.
For 24 years, the "half-moon" style was considered a tactical distraction to shift the media’s focus away from his injuries. Today, Doritos is rewriting that history with a bold proposition: It wasn't a half-moon. It was a triangle.
Doritos has launched The Triangle Theory, a campaign that reframes one of football’s greatest visual mysteries as a "lost" marketing stunt from the early 2000s. By blending nostalgia with investigative satire, the brand suggests that its iconic shape has been influencing global culture longer than anyone realized.
The campaign bypassed traditional advertising in favour of an Earned Media strategy. It began with "leaked" archival footage on social media, sparking a wildfire of conspiracy theories among fans from all the generations and football purists. The narrative gained mainstream legitimacy when TNT Sports dedicated segments to the "new evidence," featuring experts and commentators debating whether the "Fenômeno" had been a secret brand ambassador all along.
Credits
View on- Agency AlmapBBDO/Sao Paulo
- Production Company The Youth
- Director YOUTH
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Credits
View on- Agency AlmapBBDO/Sao Paulo
- Production Company The Youth
- Director YOUTH
- VFX Dopo VFX
- Audio Post Satelite Audio
- Additional Black Madre
- Chief Creative Officer Marco (Pernil) Giannelli
- Creative Director Thiago Bocatto
- Creative Caique Guadanucci
- Creative Gustavo Souza
- Creative Hiroito Takahashi Gomes
- Senior Art Director Isabella Remelli
- Director of Production (HP) Diego Villas Boas
- Producer Aline Silva
- Director of Production Charles Nobili
- Producer Marcia Granja
- Producer Giuliano Enrico Springhetti
- Executive Producer Ezany Brandão
- Assistant Executive Producer Jessica Specht
- Director Bueno
- Executive Producer Carolina Cherobim
- Executive Producer Eduardo Lubiazi
- Art Director Rodrigo Saraiva
- Editor Maria Machado
- Editor Victor Pinguim Matos
- Executive Post Producer Daniel Maia
- Executive Post Producer Mauricio Kazu Yamashita
- VFX Supervisor Juliano Storchi
- Post Producer Jacquelini Lima
- Color Johann Stollmeier
- Creative Director/Co-Founder Roberto Coelho
- Creative Director/Partner Hurso Ambrifi
- Music Producer Daniel Iasbeck
- Music Producer Bruno Zibordi
- Composer/Music Producer Koitty
- Producer Alexandre Avicena
- Music Producer Pedro Pelotas
- Audio Post Producer Luna Francca
- Sound Designer/Audio Mixer Carla Cornea
- Audio Producer Vithor Moraes
- Sound Designer Arthur Dossa
- Sound Designer/Audio Mixer Andre Giannini
- Sound Designer/Audio Mixer Esteban Romero
- Creative Director Andre Maciel
- Producer Laryssa Andrade
- Producer Felipe Ribs
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Credits
powered by- Agency AlmapBBDO/Sao Paulo
- Production Company The Youth
- Director YOUTH
- VFX Dopo VFX
- Audio Post Satelite Audio
- Additional Black Madre
- Chief Creative Officer Marco (Pernil) Giannelli
- Creative Director Thiago Bocatto
- Creative Caique Guadanucci
- Creative Gustavo Souza
- Creative Hiroito Takahashi Gomes
- Senior Art Director Isabella Remelli
- Director of Production (HP) Diego Villas Boas
- Producer Aline Silva
- Director of Production Charles Nobili
- Producer Marcia Granja
- Producer Giuliano Enrico Springhetti
- Executive Producer Ezany Brandão
- Assistant Executive Producer Jessica Specht
- Director Bueno
- Executive Producer Carolina Cherobim
- Executive Producer Eduardo Lubiazi
- Art Director Rodrigo Saraiva
- Editor Maria Machado
- Editor Victor Pinguim Matos
- Executive Post Producer Daniel Maia
- Executive Post Producer Mauricio Kazu Yamashita
- VFX Supervisor Juliano Storchi
- Post Producer Jacquelini Lima
- Color Johann Stollmeier
- Creative Director/Co-Founder Roberto Coelho
- Creative Director/Partner Hurso Ambrifi
- Music Producer Daniel Iasbeck
- Music Producer Bruno Zibordi
- Composer/Music Producer Koitty
- Producer Alexandre Avicena
- Music Producer Pedro Pelotas
- Audio Post Producer Luna Francca
- Sound Designer/Audio Mixer Carla Cornea
- Audio Producer Vithor Moraes
- Sound Designer Arthur Dossa
- Sound Designer/Audio Mixer Andre Giannini
- Sound Designer/Audio Mixer Esteban Romero
- Creative Director Andre Maciel
- Producer Laryssa Andrade
- Producer Felipe Ribs
The heart of the campaign is a 12-minute investigative mockumentary. Part thriller, part dry comedy, the film features interviews with sports historians, stylists, and Ronaldo himself. His performance sits perfectly on the edge of truth and fiction, leaving the audience with the ultimate question: “Could this actually be true?”
To seal the "theory," Doritos released the Lost Ad of 2002, a commercial meticulously crafted with the lo-fi aesthetic, grainy textures and vintage editing of the era. It’s a piece of brand entertainment that bridges two decades of identity through a single geometric shape.
“With The Triangle Theory, we are betting on a creative narrative, leveraging the trending topic and exploring one of our brand’s core elements: the triangle”, says Cecília Dias, Marketing VP at PepsiCo Brazil. “Doritos has always had this bold essence, and by bringing Ronaldo into this campaign, we reinforce this brand value in an irreverent way”.
By blurring the lines between sports documentary and satire, Doritos has successfully dominated the cultural conversation, proving that Brand Bravery is the most effective way to capture the modern consumer's attention
