LENS: PRINGLES
In a tribute to the early days of computer gaming, Pringles launched a creative and cryptic series of videos developed by Grey London. What appears to be an uncomfortably high-pitched sound, is identifiable to those people who have been around since the beginning of the gaming era.
The videos have been released in the run up to the wider ‘Stay in the Game’ campaign in May. The films show a simple computer screen travelling back in time, before the metaverse, the cloud or the internet. Meanwhile a screeching sound plays over the video. This piercing sound, called a binary code, is what gamers used to share computer games and load onto a system called the ZX Spectrum.
Aisling O’Hara, Pringles Europe marketing manager says, “Pringles continues to be the go-to snack for gamers and we’re really excited to take that to the next level. When talking to consumers during campaign development, they told us how the Pringles chip is like no other, how the less mess snack helps them stay in the game which formed the basis of our ‘Stay in the Game’ creative idea.”
Released in celebration of the ZX Spectrum’s 40-year anniversary on 23 April, Pringles created its own binary code to share the Pringles chip. The ‘Pringlesonic Chip’ is a digital depiction of a potato chip created in binary code sound. This was the first binary sound code since its inventor Sir Clive Sinclair passed away in September 2021.
The idea was conceived by engineers as a way of making potato chips which were less likely to break before reaching consumers. The supercomputer was used to analyse the data and identify the ideal dimension. The resultant potato chip was also less greasy and therefore, as the campaign states, ideal for gamers.
The campaign connects with a distinct audience of people who experienced the gaming evolution during the 1980s. The sound was instantly recognisable for this demographic and by downloading the chip to their ZX Spectrum, the viewers were also provided with the details of an exclusive competition to win a unique Pringlesonic can of chips.
Pringles created additional social content showing footage of the supercomputer creating the Pringlesonic Chip, so newer generations of gamers can understand and interact with the campaign.
Laura Jordan Bambach, president and chief creative officer at Grey London, adds “It’s been said that without the ZX Spectrum, computer gaming would never have taken off in the way it has, so it makes sense for the go-to gaming snack, Pringles, to pay tribute to its ability to stay in the game, even as it turns 40, with this ingenuity of Pringles, mind popping 8-bit of genius.”