NEW YORK, May 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, fans will have their say when they tune in to watch two remaining spicy-sweet couples compete in a series of challenges in "When Spicy Meets Sweet" -- a short-form reality dating series developed by the Doritos brand and MTV. Viewer votes will determine which spicy-sweet pair will star in a national commercial for new Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili tortilla chips that will air exclusively on MTV and MTV2 this summer.
The micro-series finale premieres today on MTV between 2pm -- 5pm ET/PT during MTV's afternoon programming block, dubbed "Spicy Sweet Fridays." Following the on-air premiere, viewers can vote online at http://www.snackstrongproductions.com/ to cast their vote through May 8th.
The 18-episode reality-dating series began airing on April 18th when fans saw what happened as spicy girls and sweet guys were matched up to go on dates. Throughout the short-form series, cast members took on some of the most unpredictable dating experiences of their lives, all captured on film and watched by millions. Viewers saw their chosen sweet guys go on spicy dates such as a trip to the tattoo and piercing parlor, while their chosen spicy girls explored their sweeter side on dates such as volunteering at a senior citizens center. Fans who may have missed the original airings on MTV television can still view each episode, along with extra footage, at http://www.snackstrongproductions.com/.
"Upon launching our new Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili chips we wanted to put control back into the hands of our consumers so they could not only compete for the opportunity to star in our national commercial, but also determine who those stars would be," said Ann Mukherjee, group vice president, marketing, Frito-Lay North America. "As we considered how great spicy and sweet could be together, we thought, what better stage than MTV to ask, 'do opposites really attract?'"
Tim Rosta, Senior Vice President of Integrated Marketing for MTV noted that the campaign is a shining example of what can happen when MTV partners with its clients to create and produce creative, authentic and engaging branded entertainment.
"The idea for a reality dating show that runs in commercial time was born out of MTV's already successful on-air programs and Doritos desire to bring their new flavorful chip literally to life," he explained. "Our collaboration with Doritos is a perfect example of how to engage targeted consumers through innovative brand programs that put control of the brand in consumers hands."
In February, Doritos and MTV invited fans across the country to submit their profile on Doritos' website http://www.snackstrongproductions.com/ for a chance to be cast on the new reality dating series. To support this first-of-its-kind, multi-media program, MTV re-branded its popular web site http://www.nextornot.com/ as http://www.spicyandsweet.nextornot.com/ to serve as an interactive community for hopefuls to submit their profiles. Between February 25 and March 16, online viewers helped to determine the four spicy girls and four sweet guys to be cast in the show by the amount of time spent on their favorite profiles. The web site has garnered more than 19 million page views, with users averaging more than 30 minutes on the site per visit.
"When Spicy Meets Sweet" is the evolution of the Doritos brand allowing consumers to be in control. Last year, the Doritos brand aired two consumer-created commercials during Super Bowl XLI as part of the first Doritos "Crash the Super Bowl" challenge. Following Doritos "Crash the Super Bowl," the brand launched the Doritos "Fight for the Flavor" campaign to invite Doritos fans to determine which of two new flavors survived on store shelves and which one was pulled. Then, the brand launched the Doritos "X-13D Flavor Experiment," where consumers had a chance to name the new mysterious flavor of Doritos tortilla chips, followed by "Unlock Xbox," which empowered fans to design the first-ever consumer-created Xbox LIVE(R) Arcade game. Most recently, Doritos launched the music career of one of its talented fans by airing her original song as a music video during its Super Bowl XLII air time as part of its second annual "Crash the Super Bowl" program.
MTV is the dynamic, vibrant experiment at the intersection of music, creativity and youth culture. For over 26 years, MTV has evolved, challenged the norm, and detonated boundaries -- giving each new generation a creative outlet and voice that entertains, informs and unites on every platform and screen. On-air, MTV has been the number one rated 24 hour ad-supported cable network P12-24 for 16 straight years. Online, MTV.com scored double-digit growth in 2007 and MTV launched 15 dynamic online communities and eight new virtual worlds. On the go, MTV Mobile is the #1 music brand in the wireless space -- delivering 90% more streams than in 2006. And MTV's successful sibling networks MTV2, mtvU and MTV Tr3s each deliver unprecedented customized content, super-serving music fans, college students and young American Latinos like no one else. MTV is part of MTV Networks, a unit of
Viacom , one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Wanna know more? Come on in... http://www.mtvpress.com/.
Frito-Lay North America is the $10 billion convenient foods division of PepsiCo, which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. In addition to Frito-Lay, PepsiCo divisions include Pepsi-Cola, Quaker Foods, Gatorade and Tropicana.
