Every week, Amárach and Future Proof Insights share exclusive findings from their PRIZM+ ad testing service, showcasing best practice creative advertising in Ireland.

Tayto’s new Cornados takes the brand’s iconic mascot and drops him into the middle of a first date gone wrong.

What starts as nervous silence in a diner quickly transforms into a surreal, comic performance when Mr. Tayto delivers a pack of Cornados.

The crisps become a musical wind instrument, the boy becomes confident, and the girl is swept up in the magic.

It’s a classic Tayto move, leaning on humour and character to launch a new product.

Neuroscience data shows the ad delivers strong peaks where surprise and humour collide.

Memorisation lifts sharply at Mr Tayto’s entrance, and again during the playful musical sequence. The opening frames, however, show lower engagement as the awkward set-up unfolds.

Overall, the campaign achieves its goal: anchoring Cornados to fun, confidence, and playful disruption.

Best Performing Scenes

0:10–0:15 – Mr. Tayto Arrives

The giant mascot stepping into the diner delivers a classic prediction error.

Neural responses show a surge in attention, desire and memorisation. The unexpected sight immediately ties brand and product together.

This moment also underlines the value of iconic brand assets.

Audiences don’t just notice the surprise, they instantly connect it to Tayto’s playful identity.

For marketers, the learning is that surprise works best when it’s brand-led.

Mr. Tayto’s presence ensures the product reveal is both funny and memorable, and demonstrates how well-established brand characters can turn disruption into recall.

0:16–0:21 – The Musical Solo

As the boy passionately plays the Cornados, memorisation and emotion rise steadily.

The surreal humour drives empathic mirroring. Viewers feel the girl’s amazement and share in the fun.

This is where the ad’s quirkiness peaks, making the crisp more than just a snack, but the device that flips the whole story from awkward to magical.

For marketers, this is a reminder that humour doesn’t just entertain, it can make the product the hero, with the crisp literally becoming the instrument of transformation, and showing how playfulness can build both distinctiveness and memorability.

Underperforming Scenes

0:00–0:09 – The Awkward Build-Up

The early diner scenes set the stage but generate modest engagement and low emotion.

Neural data shows that while relatable, the absence of brand cues makes this section weaker, and viewers process it more as generic context than brand story.

The nervous exchanges create empathy, but without a subtle visual or audio tie to Tayto, this early attention isn’t anchored.

The lesson is that set-up is important, but without an early anchor to the brand, attention can drift before the payoff.

Behavioural Impact (COM-B)

Survey data indicate strong Capability and Opportunity.

Audiences understand Cornados as part of the Tayto range and see it in a fun, social context.

Motivation, however, is less pronounced. While viewers enjoy the humour, they are less directly prompted to try the product.

Younger audiences respond more strongly to the playful style, while older groups show flatter responses.

The insight is clear, belief in the product is there, but the ad needs a clearer bridge from laughter to purchase, whether through trial mechanics, prompts, or in-store activation.

Lessons for Marketers

• Surprise with the brand at the centre: Mr. Tayto’s entrance shows how prediction error is most powerful when it’s unmistakably tied to the brand.
• Make the product the hero: The musical sequence works because the Cornados crisp drive the humour and transformation, not just the character.
• Anchor earlier: Set-up scenes need subtle brand cues to keep attention primed before the reveal.

In short, the ad reinforces Tayto’s playful identity while launching Cornados with humour and surprise.

With cleaner closure and a nudge to trial, the campaign could translate fun into flavour sales.

For more insights from PRIZM+ on how neuroscience drives advertising impact, visit: https://www.futureproofinsights.ie/prizm-plus/