Never mind the actual winner - Walkers' Do Us A Flavour was a sensational PR coup, says Charlie Wright
So the ballots have been counted and the most gripping democratic battle since the US presidential election has come to an end. Walkers this week unveiled Builder's Breakfast as the winner of its seemingly omnipresent Do Us A Flavour campaign - surely one of the most eye-catching PR operations in food and drink for years.
It got the nation talking, including some heated debate in Grocer Towers (for the record, the author backed the winning horse from day one) - and, sensationally, registered more than a million votes on the Walkers website.
Whether you were Chilli & Chocolate or plain old Fish & Chips, you can't accuse Walkers of undercooking the promotion. Cannily, the six candidate flavours' trial runs even extended to the increasingly lucrative market for multipacks - and although Walkers has unwittingly flooded pound stores' bargain bins with unwanted squirrel, the Leicester crisp king has got a whole lot of PR crunch - and consumer goodwill - for its cash.
This was punter power on a level higher even than the Wispa campaign - and don't be surprised if Onion Bhaji returns one day.
So the ballots have been counted and the most gripping democratic battle since the US presidential election has come to an end. Walkers this week unveiled Builder's Breakfast as the winner of its seemingly omnipresent Do Us A Flavour campaign - surely one of the most eye-catching PR operations in food and drink for years.
It got the nation talking, including some heated debate in Grocer Towers (for the record, the author backed the winning horse from day one) - and, sensationally, registered more than a million votes on the Walkers website.
Whether you were Chilli & Chocolate or plain old Fish & Chips, you can't accuse Walkers of undercooking the promotion. Cannily, the six candidate flavours' trial runs even extended to the increasingly lucrative market for multipacks - and although Walkers has unwittingly flooded pound stores' bargain bins with unwanted squirrel, the Leicester crisp king has got a whole lot of PR crunch - and consumer goodwill - for its cash.
This was punter power on a level higher even than the Wispa campaign - and don't be surprised if Onion Bhaji returns one day.
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