The FINANCIAL -- The Doritos brand awarded
its second $1 million bonus prize in less than a week when it was
announced that the Doritos consumer-generated Super Bowl ad "Sling
Baby," created by Kevin T. Willson, ranked No. 1 in the USA TODAY
Facebook Super Bowl Ad Meter.
According to PepsiCo, Doritos, one of the flagship brands from PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division, also awarded a $1 million bonus prize earlier this week to Jonathan Friedman creator of "Man's Best Friend," which took the top spot in the traditional USA TODAY Super Bowl Ad Meter rankings. The combined $2 million in prizes represents the largest bonus payout by the Doritos brand in the six-year history of the Crash the Super Bowl program.
As winners of the contest, Willson and Friedman were also awarded one of the most exciting grand prizes to date: a guaranteed opportunity to work on a future Doritos project with one of the hottest entertainment teams in the industry today — the award-winning trio of Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone that make up The Lonely Island.
The two Doritos ads that aired Sunday were among five finalists selected by the Doritos brand from more than 6,100 total submissions, the most ever in a single contest year. Consumer votes determined one of the winners, while Doritos brand executives selected the other.
Friedman, a freelance graphic designer and musician, spent just $20 to buy dog treats, a cat collar and a bag of Doritos tortilla chips to film "Man's Best Friend." He borrowed a friend's dog, Huff, and labored through multiple takes as the 120-pound Great Dane resisted in his new acting gig. Finally, after bribing Huff with treat after treat, Friedman got the shots he wanted to create his ad, which stars a dog that bribes a man with Doritos tortilla chips to cover up what he's done with the neighbor's cat.
A former special education teacher, Willson left his steady job in 2005 to pursue his lifelong dream of comedy film production. With the airing of "Sling Baby" during Super Bowl XLVI, he is now that much closer to fulfilling his dream. The spot tells an underdog story of a grandma and baby who team up to take down the bully on the jungle gym and re-claim a bag of Doritos tortilla chips.
All five contest finalists received $25,000 and a trip to attend Super Bowl XLVI. Bonus cash prizes were based on how each winning ad ranked in the traditional USA TODAY Ad Meter, as well as the USA TODAY Facebook Super Bowl Ad Meter.
Since Crash the Super Bowl began in 2007, consumer-created Doritos ads have consistently ranked within the top-five spots of the traditional USA TODAY Ad Meter, and three of the last four years they have scored the No. 1 ranking. This includes two No. 1 rankings in this year's competition — one in the traditional USA TODAY Ad Meter; the other in the inaugural USA TODAY Facebook Super Bowl Ad Meter.
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