The Breakdown
Pringles · Once You Drop
Pringles turned 'once you pop' into a literal, branded urn
Fronted by a real funeral director, Pringles' Halloween stunt invites fans to sign up for the chance to spend eternity in a can-shaped urn, stretching its own tagline as far as it will go.
The TL;DR (too long; didn't read)
- 'Once You Drop' extends Pringles' long-running 'Once You Pop, the Pop Don't Stop' line into a Halloween giveaway built by BBDO New York and Weber Shandwick.
- Fans sign an online 'Last Will and Taste-Ament' at onceyoudrop.com (entries 13 to 22 October) for a chance to win a metal urn shaped like a Pringles can, fronted by TikTok creator Dan the Funeral Man, a real funeral director.
- The winner, announced around Halloween, also gets what the brand calls a lifetime supply of Pringles; no entry numbers or results have been reported.
01
The joke is the can itself
The urn isn't a generic branded prize: it's shaped like the Pringles tube, the single most recognisable thing about the product.
That means the gag only needs one visual to land. Anyone who recognises the can shape gets the joke immediately, without a voiceover explaining it.
02
A real funeral director makes the bit work
Casting an actual funeral director, rather than an actor playing one, gives the stunt a straight-faced credibility a scripted read couldn't match.
It also plugs Pringles into an existing creator's audience on TikTok rather than building reach from a standing start.
03
A sign-up, not a sales pitch
Because entering means filling out a mock 'last will', the campaign asks for a specific action rather than just attention. That's a different, more measurable bar than a view count, even though no entry figures have been published yet.
A capped window (13 to 22 October) and a single winner keep it a stunt, not a mass promotion, so its real reach depends on how far people share it rather than how many can plausibly win.
Read the original reporting
- Pringles Offers One Die-Hard Fan a Final Resting Place in a Branded Urn ↗
Adweek · 13 Oct 2026
The theory bit
The academic ideas that explain what's going on, with the full reference for your assignments.
Distinctive brand assets
Colours, characters, shapes and sounds that people link to only your brand. They help ads get correctly attributed, so the brand (not the category) gets the credit.
Here: The urn's shape reuses the Pringles can, one of the brand's most recognisable physical assets, as the joke itself.
Romaniuk, J. (2018). Building Distinctive Brand Assets. Oxford University Press.
Humour in advertising
Humour reliably boosts attention and liking; it works best when it's related to the product rather than a gag bolted on.
Here: The humour is tied directly to the product's own shape, which research suggests lands better than a joke bolted on for its own sake.
Weinberger, M. G. & Gulas, C. S. (1992). The Impact of Humor in Advertising: A Review. Journal of Advertising, 21(4).
STEPPS: why things catch on
Six drivers of sharing: Social currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical value and Stories. Content that makes people look good or is highly visible spreads further.
Here: Signing a mock 'last will' gives people Social currency and a Story to share, which Berger's STEPPS framework suggests spreads further than passive viewing.
Berger, J. (2013). Contagious: Why Things Catch On. Simon & Schuster.
Over to you
No right answers here. These are to get you thinking. Jot your ideas down or chat them through.
- 1
Why does shaping the urn like the Pringles can matter more than putting the logo on a generic urn?
Need a nudge?
Think about what makes a joke understandable at a glance.
- 2
What does casting a real funeral director add that a scripted actor wouldn't?
Need a nudge?
Consider credibility versus obvious performance.
- 3
Why might asking people to sign up be a better signal than a view count, even without published entry numbers yet?
Need a nudge?
Think about the difference between watching something and acting on it.
Optional · about 10 minutes
Your mini task
In 60–120 words: pick a brand with one unmistakable physical shape, colour or sound (its own distinctive asset) and design a stunt that turns that exact asset into the punchline, naming the creator or personality who would front it and the specific action you want people to take.