Doritos Mexico has premiered an LGBTQ ad ahead of Día de Los Muertos and it’s honestly the kind of representation we need in 2021. In the ad, a family goes to the grave of their loved one to celebrate his life and honor him in the afterlife. They bring offerings and flowers to a candlelit cemetery where an older woman’s brother is laid to rest. One of those offerings just so happens to be a bowl of Doritos.
It’s a bit on the nose even for an ad, there’s no doubt about that, but we’re not ones to judge what loved ones bring the deceased in memory of them. To each their own. But in the grand scheme of things, that’s not what matters. What does is the unexpected events that follow the sister’s words of, “Brother, how I miss you.”
As the frame focuses on a picture of the deceased, smoke starts to billow out from behind it and the spirit of her brother Alberto appears. Everyone is overjoyed to see him. And the twist of it all comes when Alberto takes off his hat and a man appears beside him, looking at him lovingly. His family is confused about who he is until Alberto introduces him as Mario, his partner.
That’s where time stopped for everyone, including the viewer. How would the family react? Would they accept him? Would they still come and visit him after this? All these questions and more were running through our heads, including my own. As someone from the LGBTQ community, who is very familiar with the rampant homophobia in Latine communities, I was on the edge of my seat wondering how this would be handled.
Color me surprised and delighted when Alberto’s sister started clapping and Alberto and Mario’s faces lit up with joy and emotion. She thought he was going to be alone forever and it brought her joy to see him finding peace with someone that he loves and cares for. The family, instead of complaining or looking on in disgust, followed her lead and joy.
That’s when the waterworks started for me. It didn’t matter that this was a Doritos commercial. All I saw were two people who adored each other and a family that accepted their love for the beautiful thing it is. On top of it all, it was during a truly Latine experience like Día de Los Muertos, a celebration of all those who have passed.
Now, not everyone was happy about this ad from Doritos. They were offended that their traditions were being “sullied” by the LGBTQ community. Nothing has been sullied, dear haters. Sorry…no, I’m not sorry to break this to you, but Latine people also happen to be part of the LGBTQ community. They also die, are mourned, and then celebrated during Día de Los Muertos by those who still love them.
And this commercial from Doritos is a celebration of those who look, love, and live like Alberto and Mario. Because, as the tagline says, it’s never too late to be who you want to be. It’s never too late to love who you want to love. And it’s never too late to give viewers the kind of representation they deserve to see in 2021, even if it’s through an ad for Doritos.
