Triangle-shape tortilla chips that leave dust on your fingers.

We’re betting that this sentence would immediately bring one brand to mind for 99% of the population.

Now that’s brand recognition.

Okay, we’re cheating a little since you’ve already seen the title.

Of course, we’re looking at the ‘little golden things,’ the iconic Doritos brand.

This article will examine exactly what makes the Doritos brand work with a deep dive into its logo.

We’ll also see evidence of Dorito’s connection with its target audience by looking at what happened when a rebranding concept went viral.

Doritos History

The history of Doritos is, fittingly, the stuff of legend.

The story goes that, back in 1964, a restaurant in California-based Disneyland fried up its leftover stale tortillas with a selection of spices.

And so, like any modern Disney Marvel character, the hero was born with a legendary origin story.

Thus, the iconic tortilla chip brand came into existence.

From these perhaps accidental origins, the brand has evolved through time to become one of the best-known, immediately recognizable snack brands worldwide.

The brand in its current form is a social-media-savvy behemoth, with sophisticated ad campaigns that stay trending, supporting the notion that Doritos signifies an extreme, vibrant lifestyle with its tagline “for the bold.”

But it’s just a bag of Doritos, right?

How did the Marketing guys and gals at Pepsico equate the Doritos brand name with a vibrant, carefree lifestyle?

Well, let’s look at the Doritos logo evolution as one aspect of its branding.

Doritos Logo Evolution

You can almost see the brand managers’ thought processes over the last six decades as you look at the evolution of the Doritos logo.

There have been several iterations as the brand consistently listens to its target audience to shift and stay relevant.