Walkers’ Original Do Us a Flavour
Six Finalist Packets and a Public Vote
Forgotten Food & Drinks · 2008–2010
Archived on
Region
United Kingdom
Associated With
Walkers - campaign organiser and crisp manufacturer
Defining Feature
Six shopper-suggested finalist flavours sold in voting packets
Status
Discontinued - Builder’s Breakfast was discontinued in 2010
Overview
Walkers’ original Do Us a Flavour asked UK shoppers to invent a crisp flavour and vote for six finalists.
From January 2009, packets for Builder’s Breakfast, Cajun Squirrel, Chilli & Chocolate, Crispy Duck & Hoisin, Fish & Chips and Onion Bhaji carried the contest into shops.
Builder’s Breakfast won the public vote and briefly joined the range, but Walkers discontinued it in 2010 as the company moved on to a separate promotion.
Why It Mattered
Choosing a packet became part of deciding what Walkers should sell, rather than simply selecting from a finished range. Shoppers could propose flavours and vote among six manufactured finalists, while Walkers retained control over shortlisting, production and how long the winner remained on sale.
From Suggestions to Shop Shelves
- The advertising campaign broke on 11 July 2008; entries opened on 14 July and closed on 10 October.
- A flavour-expert panel led by Heston Blumenthal selected six suggestions for production.
- Blumenthal presented the finalists at London’s Paramount Club on 8 January 2009. The packets went on sale the next day, with a six-flavour multipack also reported.
Voting and Advertised Rewards
- Marketing Week identified 1 May 2009 as the voting deadline.
- Builder’s Breakfast received 232,336 votes, reported as nearly 22% of more than one million votes.
- Sources date the announcement of the result to either 6 or 7 May 2009.
- Publicity advertised £50,000 plus 1% of future sales for the winner, while one report advertised £10,000 for each other finalist; the final agreements and payments are not documented.
Promotion and Reported Reach
- The campaign used voting packets, shop displays, television, radio, the Walkers website, WAP, Facebook, street promotion and Yahoo TV’s Do Us a Flavour News.
- Gary Lineker and Danielle Bux appeared in the February 2009 voting advertisements produced by AMV BBDO.
- Walkers’ participant case reported 1,213,853 suggestions, more than one million votes, 4.3 million website visits and a 14.7% year-on-year sales-value uplift; these were campaign claims rather than independently audited findings.
Sources & Records
Walkers — Asking Consumers to ‘Do Us a Flavour’
Explains the 2007 idea, campaign phases, compressed development, packaging, media and Walkers’ claimed results. Printed pp. 1–6; PDF pp. 4–9.
Walkers 5 Trial Crisp Flavours
Shows five original voting packets photographed on 10 February 2009—every finalist except Builder’s Breakfast—and retains creator, date and licence-link metadata.
Walkers “Cajun Squirrel” Crisps
Shows the original Cajun Squirrel voting packet photographed on 10 February 2009, including its Vote For Me treatment and printed inspiration credit.
Walkers Chilli and Chocolate — Do Us a Flavour
Provides a dated, critical consumer tasting response to Chilli & Chocolate, countering any suggestion that reception was uniformly positive.
Gallery
Credit
Frankie Roberto, Walkers5trialcrispflavours
Licence
Reuse and sharing, including commercial use, are allowed with attribution. Credit the creator, link the licence and identify any changes. Other rights may apply.
Caption
Five of the six finalists turned the crisp packet into a request for a vote. The missing sixth flavour, Builder’s Breakfast, would win the competition, making this a record of the alternatives shoppers were asked to compare.
Credit
fsse8info, walkers cajun squirrel crisps
Licence
Reuse and sharing, including commercial use, are allowed with attribution. Credit the creator, link the licence and identify any changes. ShareAlike applies to adaptations. Other rights may apply.
Caption
Cajun Squirrel carried the competition’s invitation to vote directly on its packet. The front also credited the entrant’s inspiration, giving a public suggestion a visible place in the brand’s packaging.
Credit
Justine Foong, “Builder’s Breakfast Walkers Crisps”, 4 March 2009, via Flickr. © Justine Foong; all rights reserved.
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
Builder’s Breakfast in its original 2009 voting packet. The red “Vote for me!” rosette promoted the flavour that later won the competition.