As anticipation builds for the final season of Stranger Things, brands are once again competing to earn relevance inside one of pop culture’s most recognizable worlds. For Gatorade and Doritos, the opportunity went beyond a standard licensing play.
Instead, both brands used the show’s 1980s setting as a strategic bridge between entertainment, brand heritage, and modern audience expectations.
Backed by PepsiCo and aligned with Netflix, the campaign reactivated real archival assets, reworked legacy creative, and layered in physical products, media, and participation mechanics.
Rather than simply borrowing Stranger Things iconography, Gatorade and Doritos rebuilt their marketing around the era that shaped both the brands and the show itself.
This breakdown looks at how that 1980s playbook came together and why it resonated with today’s audiences.
- How Gatorade and Doritos Approached the Same Moment Differently
- Standing Out in a Franchise Crowded With Brand Tie-Ins
- Turning Brand Heritage Into a Strategic Advantage
- Reworking a Classic for a New Generation
- Turning Product Drops Into Participation
- When Retail Drops Become Social Content
- Scaling the Campaign Across Screens, Shelves, and Streets
- Why This Campaign Worked
- Key Takeaways for Marketers
How Gatorade and Doritos Approached the Same Moment Differently
PepsiCo ran two parallel creator-driven initiatives for Gatorade and Doritos, each tied to the cultural momentum around the final season of Stranger Things. Instead of building a single joint campaign, the teams coordinated around the same era, tone, and entertainment moment so each brand could activate in its own style while benefiting from shared cultural heat.
Gatorade leaned into late-1980s sports nostalgia — a space the brand had historically owned — and reintroduced a legacy creative platform to reconnect with fans who remember the original work while giving younger audiences an entry point through modern creators and social formats. The goal was simple: refresh an iconic brand asset and make it relevant in an entertainment-driven environment where younger consumers respond to storytelling, humor, and retro cues.
Doritos approached the moment differently. Its activation focused on fan culture, remix-ready moments, and retail tie-ins that would spark rapid social engagement. The creative leaned into Stranger Things aesthetics that fit naturally with the brand’s existing identity and creator ecosystem, giving influencers clear visual hooks and a storyline they could recreate and translate into short-form content.
Both campaigns were scheduled ahead of the Season 5 release window to capture early excitement and give retailers and social teams room to build momentum. The timing created a rolling effect: teaser drops, creator-led reinterpretations, and retail visibility all fed into a broader wave of attention leading into the premiere.
Doritos, on the other hand, leaned into product innovation and participatory stunts that mirrored the over-the-top marketing style of the decade.
Across both executions, the objective was not direct product placement within the show. Instead, the brands aimed to use the Stranger Things universe as a contextual backdrop to reinforce long-standing brand identities, drive limited-edition product demand, and spark fan engagement beyond traditional advertising touchpoints.
Standing Out in a Franchise Crowded With Brand Tie-Ins
For both brands, the opportunity around Stranger Things came with built-in risk. By the time Season 5 entered its promotional phase, the franchise had already hosted years of brand tie-ins, nostalgia-driven drops, and limited-edition collaborations.
Standing out required more than slapping logos onto retro packaging or recreating familiar scenes from the show.
At the same time, Gatorade and Doritos faced a broader category challenge shared by many legacy CPG brands. Nostalgia remains a powerful lever, but it can quickly feel forced or derivative if it lacks authenticity.
Both brands needed to tap into the 1980s in a way that felt earned, especially for younger audiences who experience the decade primarily through pop culture rather than lived memory.
There was also the executional balancing act. The campaign had to resonate with long-time fans of the show while still delivering clear brand value. That meant aligning with Stranger Things’ tone and mythology without becoming dependent on the series for meaning, all while translating entertainment hype into real-world engagement across media, retail, and social channels.
Check out the How CPG Brands Are Merging Cultural Relevance with Performance Media: Coca-Cola’s Campaign
Turning Brand Heritage Into a Strategic Advantage
The breakthrough for both brands came from recognizing that Stranger Things was not just a licensing opportunity, but a shared cultural language rooted in a very specific decade. The show’s 1980s setting allowed Gatorade and Doritos to lean into their own authentic histories, rather than borrowing nostalgia from the outside.
Instead of recreating generic retro aesthetics, both brands pulled directly from real archives, products, and marketing playbooks that originally existed in the same era as the series. That decision gave the campaign credibility.
The nostalgia was not stylized or ironic; it was grounded in assets that had already shaped consumer memory decades earlier.
Equally important was how the brands used the Stranger Things universe as a metaphor rather than a backdrop. Gatorade translated the Upside Down into a symbol of athletic pressure and performance, while Doritos used exaggerated, over-the-top storytelling to mirror the spectacle-driven marketing of the 1980s.
In both cases, the entertainment property enhanced the brand narrative instead of replacing it.
This approach ensured the campaign felt additive to the franchise, while still reinforcing long-standing brand identities that could stand on their own outside the show.
Reworking a Classic for a New Generation
For Gatorade, the Stranger Things collaboration was built around reviving something real, not recreating something retro.
The brand reached back to its 1987 “No Ordinary Thirst Quencher” campaign and reimagined it as “No Ordinary Athlete,” updating the message without abandoning its original DNA. This was not a visual remix for novelty’s sake. It was a strategic decision to anchor the activation in a platform that already carried decades of equity.
The creative translated the world of Stranger Things into an athletic metaphor. The Upside Down became a stand-in for the pressure, fear, and intensity athletes experience in competition. Football, basketball, and baseball players were shown crossing from everyday gameplay into darker, more demanding environments, reinforcing Gatorade’s long-standing association with performance under stress.
Narration by Myles Garrett further grounded the story in credibility rather than spectacle.
Beyond the hero film, Gatorade supported the campaign with limited-edition Citrus Cooler bottles, retro-inspired packaging, and capsule merchandise collections that extended the nostalgia into retail and ecommerce.
@khleothomas The first Gatorade X Stranger Things collab is here! Comes with a Tee, Towel and the return of the Glass Bottle! Head over to Gatorade.com to purchase the kit. @Gatorade @Stranger Things
Together, these elements created a closed loop between storytelling, product, and purchase, ensuring the campaign lived beyond a single media moment.
Turning Product Drops Into Participation
While Gatorade leaned heavily on narrative and legacy advertising, Doritos approached the Stranger Things moment through spectacle, humor, and fan involvement. Rather than centering the activation on a single hero spot, Doritos built its campaign around product drops and interactive experiences that mirrored the exaggerated marketing style of the 1980s.
The brand introduced limited-edition flavors like Stranger Pizza x Cool Ranch Collisions alongside glow-in-the-dark Spicy Sweet Chili Minis, packaged in vintage-inspired designs that stood out on the shelf. These products acted as conversation starters first and snacks second, designed to be photographed, shared, and collected as much as consumed.
Doritos extended the nostalgia further with the “Doritos Telethon for Hawkins,” a deliberately over-the-top, ’80s-style broadcast starring pop culture figures tied to the era.
Fans were invited to call a dedicated phone line and leave messages of support for the fictional town, with the most memorable submissions amplified across social channels and even real-world billboards.
In doing so, Doritos shifted the campaign from passive viewing to active participation, giving fans a reason to engage with the brand beyond the product itself.
The telethon mechanic, in particular, quickly spilled beyond Doritos’ owned channels and into fan communities, where users began sharing their experiences calling the hotline.
On Reddit and other social platforms, fans compared which celebrity or character voice they reached, replayed calls to unlock different interactions, and speculated about how submitted messages might be used in future promotions.
The tone of the conversation was playful, curious, and largely positive, with many users describing the experience as unexpectedly immersive rather than purely promotional.
What stood out was the repeat behavior it triggered. Some fans described calling back multiple times to reach different recordings, treating the hotline less like an ad and more like an interactive Easter egg.
Even confusion about the number format became part of the experience, with commenters explaining that extra digits were ignored, which reinforced the throwback feel Doritos was aiming for. That kind of low-effort, high-novelty mechanic gave the campaign a built-in reason to keep resurfacing.
When Retail Drops Become Social Content
Beyond the telethon, the collaboration gained momentum through creator formats that were easy to replicate. Several videos on social media followed a consistent pattern: spot the products in store, film the display, call out the limited elements, then promise a follow-up taste test.
@beccawhittle Stranger Things themed food?! You know I have to try these. @target @strangerthings @netflix @doritos@kelloggscerealus@theofficialchipsahoy@gatorade #strangerthings5 #netflix#strangefood #targetfinds #targetrun #snackbreak #snackideas #uniquefood #foodietiktok
In practice, the campaign operated like a retail scavenger hunt, with Target and snack aisles becoming the set.
Packaging details did a lot of the work. Creators lingered on character bottles, pointed out which versions had Stranger Things designs versus generic limited edition variants, and reacted to add-ons. In those clips, the design was the hook and the purchase was the proof, which is exactly why the bottles and bags functioned like media.
@thesnackinshack Let’s try the Limited Edition @Gatorade x @Stranger Things Upside Down Citrus Cooler ⚡️ @Gatorade US @GatoradeCanada #gatorade #strangerthings #upsidedown #review #tastetest
♬ Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) [2018 Remaster] - Kate Bush
Moreover, taste tests and quick ratings became another major distribution path. Creators tried the Citrus Cooler and the Doritos Collisions on camera, compared chips side by side, and described the flavors in detail.
The reactions were not identical, and that helped. Some praised the novelty and presentation, while others questioned how different the Upside Down variant really was. Either way, the format produced commentary that invited replies and follow-ups.
@beccawhittle Who else is super excited for the final season of Stranger Things?! Make sure to check it out only on @netflix on November 26 & try not to fall into the Upside Down. @strangerthings @gatorade @doritos @kelloggscerealus @theofficialchipsahoy @therealgushers #strangerthings5 #strangerthings #netflix #netflixrecommendation #foodreview #snackbreak #snackideas #eatwithme #eating #mukbangasmr
Scaling the Campaign Across Screens, Shelves, and Streets
With the creative foundations in place, both brands focused on distribution strategies that could carry the campaign beyond a single moment or channel. In-store discovery content became an informal distribution channel, with creators turning shelf finds into short-form announcements, hauls, and follow-up reviews.
For Gatorade, that meant leading with video and high-impact placements. The hero film launched across social and digital first, before expanding into connected TV placements timed around major live sports moments and entertainment programming tied to Stranger Things.
Out-of-home takeovers in cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Cleveland reinforced scale and visibility, while retail acted as a final touchpoint through collectible bottles and limited-edition merchandise.
Doritos took a more fragmented but highly shareable approach. Product packaging became a primary media surface, designed to trigger curiosity both in-store and online. Social channels amplified the telethon mechanic by surfacing fan reactions, call outcomes, and celebrity cameos, while real-world billboards extended the activation offline by spotlighting standout fan messages.
In this case, earned attention became as important as paid reach.
Across both brands, the unifying thread was channel intent. Each touchpoint had a clear role, whether that was driving awareness, encouraging participation, or converting nostalgia into product demand.
Rather than forcing a single message everywhere, the campaign allowed each channel to do what it does best, creating a layered experience that unfolded over time instead of peaking all at once.
Why This Campaign Worked
At its core, the Gatorade and Doritos activation succeeded because it treated nostalgia as a strategic asset rather than a surface-level aesthetic. Both brands resisted the temptation to simply mimic the look and feel of the 1980s.
Instead, they anchored their executions in real brand history and products that already existed during the era Stranger Things references, which gave the campaign immediate credibility with audiences.
Equally important was the clarity of roles between the two brands. Gatorade focused on narrative and performance, using the Upside Down as a metaphor that aligned naturally with athletic pressure and perseverance.
Doritos, on the other hand, leaned into spectacle and participation, creating moments that invited fans to play along rather than just watch. The contrast prevented creative overlap while still allowing both brands to benefit from the same cultural moment.
Finally, the campaign was designed to live across touchpoints, not peak in a single channel.
Limited-edition products, physical merchandise, social participation, out-of-home placements, and video all reinforced one another over time. That layered approach extended attention, encouraged repeat engagement, and turned a seasonal entertainment tie-in into a broader brand moment that felt cohesive rather than promotional.
Key Takeaways for Marketers
This campaign offers a clear blueprint for how brands can leverage entertainment partnerships without losing their own identity. The most effective elements were not tied to budget or scale, but to strategic clarity and execution discipline.
- Anchor nostalgia in real brand assets: Using archived campaigns, legacy products, and authentic brand history creates credibility that stylized retro aesthetics alone cannot replicate.
- Let each brand play a distinct role: Shared cultural moments work best when participating brands avoid creative overlap and instead lean into their individual strengths.
- Design participation, not just exposure: Interactive mechanics like Doritos’ telethon turned passive viewers into active participants, extending attention beyond paid media.
- Use entertainment worlds as metaphors: Gatorade’s Upside Down framing translated a fictional concept into a universal performance insight, making the collaboration feel purposeful.
- Build campaigns to unfold over time: Staggered drops across media, retail, and social channels sustain momentum and prevent campaigns from peaking too early.
