Doritos has reached "The End"

The "End" is here for the Doritos brand and Canadian consumers.

More specifically, a new digital promotion from Doritos that's built on consumer engagement has just begun. At the core of the contest, called "The End," are two new Doritos flavours in Canadian stores: Flavour A (Onion Rings N' Ketchup) and Flavour B (Buffalo Wings N' Ranch).

Doritos is asking Canadians to choose which flavour should "live" and which should permanently be yanked from store shelves.

Consumers are being asked to submit an ending to an incomplete Doritos commercial at a new custom website Doritos has launched for the promotion. The ending should "destroy" one of the flavours in a creative fashion.

The winning entry gets a hefty prize: in addition to joining the Doritos 2011 brand team, the prize includes $25,000 and 1% of future sales of the flavour that makes the cut and stays on shelves. Plus, their idea will be used to complete the unfinished commercial.

“At Doritos, we thrive off of finding ways to break through and give consumers control of the brand,” said Tony Matta, vice-president of marketing at PepsiCo Foods Canada, in a release. “The End is...the next evolution of consumer engagement where we’re handing over our brand to Canadians, and giving them a chance to play a role in making Doritos history, something we’ve never done before.”

Ken Wong, a business and marketing professor at Queen’s University, added "The Doritos campaign...breaks down barriers between industry and consumers – it’s actually a harbinger of the future.  It’s truly amazing that one lucky fan will have the chance to shape the course of their favourite brand."

Voters will judge the commercial ending submissions and choose 14 finalists (split evenly between those who favour Flavour A and Flavour B). Next, a judging panel to include a Doritos brand representative and the future-commercial's director will pick the winning ending.

There's more to the social media aspect of the contest than the website where consumers submit their ending for the commercial. There's also a Facebook fan page, a YouTube channel and a Twitter account. The content is further supported by a national TV and online ad campaign and media partnerships with MuchMusic and Astral Media.