After a long history of attempting to destroy A.V. Club staffers with their bizarre, hybridized “foods”, the Frito-Lay corporation has apparently decided to go with a more subtle method: frying our terminally sarcastic brains with a project that is both a) patently ridiculous, and b) paradoxically immune to mockery. The company has announced that it’s partnered up with the It Gets Better Project to sell rainbow-colored Doritos, in order to raise money for the suicide-prevention group. The bags are available for a minimum donation of $10, and can be purchased through the It Gets Better web site.
If you’re feeling a gentle pressure behind your eyes right now, it’s possible that your brain is attempting to reconcile the urge to make fun of a flavored corn chip marketed with the phrase “There’s nothing bolder than being yourself,” and a promised “inspirational quote” on every bag, with the fact that It Gets Better does good, important work to help teenagers cope with the worst years of their lives. (Which, now that we think about it, has always been part of Doritos’ flavor-dusted wheelhouse, albeit via the route of high-powered snacking instead of thoughtful activism.) But really, given all the absurdities that Doritos’ Department Of Chip Mad Sciences has produced over the years, as well as the good cause being supported, Rainbow Doritos actual look like they might be kind of cool. (Or nacho, or whatever, the web site doesn’t say what flavor the charitable tortillas actually are.)