Doritos and Pepsi MAX Reveal Ten Consumer-Created Commercials Vying for $5 Million Payout, an Advertising Contract and Air Time During Super Bowl XLV

PLANO, Texas and PURCHASE, New York, Jan. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Following a review of more than 5,600 creative submissions – the most ever in a single year of competition – Doritos and Pepsi MAX today revealed the names of the 10 finalists in the Crash the Super Bowl challenge. These 10 finalists will go on to compete to be one of six consumer-created ads – three for Doritos and three for Pepsi MAX – airing during the Super Bowl XLV broadcast, Feb. 6, on FOX.

As the contest enters its next phase, Doritos and Pepsi MAX fans in the United States are invited to vote for their favorite ads, helping to ultimately decide which spots air on the Super Bowl stage. If during the Super Bowl, consumer-created Doritos or Pepsi MAX ads sweep the top three rankings of the USA TODAY Ad Meter, their creators will take home a shared $5 million prize. In addition, the fan who creates the highest-ranking Doritos or Pepsi MAX ad will win a guaranteed contract to create an additional ad for the two brands in 2011.

The 10 finalist ads (in alphabetical order) are:

• "Adam and Eve" by Stephen Schuster (Doritos)
• "Birthday Wish" by Heather Kasprzak (Doritos)
• "Elevator Girl" by Michael Doneger (Pepsi MAX)
• "First Date" by Nick Simotas (Pepsi MAX)
• "House Sitting" by Tynesha Williams (Doritos)
• "Love Hurts" by Brad Bosley (Pepsi MAX)
• "Pug Attack" by JR Burningham (Doritos)
• "The Best Part" by Tyler Dixon (Doritos)
• "Torpedo Cooler" by Brendan Hayward (Pepsi MAX)
• "Zero Calories? Psshh" by Brandy Gill (Pepsi MAX)

"From the beginning, we set out to make this the biggest Crash the Super Bowl ever and give our fans even more opportunities to showcase their creativity," said Rudy Wilson, vice president, marketing, Frito-Lay. "We were blown away by how our fans responded. They not only submitted the most ads ever in the contest's history, but proved once again they have the talent to compete at the highest level."

Since Crash the Super Bowl began in 2007, consumer-created Doritos ads have consistently ranked within the top-five spots of the USA TODAY Ad Meter, and last year the talent of Doritos fans made it the most-talked-about brand coming out of the game. This year marks the first time Pepsi MAX has partnered with Doritos for the groundbreaking contest.

"As we re-launch Pepsi MAX, we are thrilled to be returning to the Super Bowl as part of the Crash the Super Bowl contest for the first time ever," said Angelique Krembs, vice president, Pepsi Cola Marketing. "We're excited by the creativity of the ads submitted by our Pepsi MAX fans. And as we enter this next phase of the contest we're eager to see which ads America will pick to run during the Super Bowl broadcast."

Beginning today through January 31, 2011, fans can vote for their favorite submissions, with the most-voted ads taking four of the six spots that air during the Super Bowl – two for Doritos and two for Pepsi MAX. In addition, Doritos and Pepsi MAX executives will each select a winning spot for their respective brands, bringing the total spots airing on game day to six. There are four ways for fans to vote this year – through the official contest website, www.crashthesuperbowl.com, through their smart phones at m.crashthesuperbowl.com, via Xbox LIVE® and through banner advertisements on select websites. Votes can be cast once a day, per platform, per brand.

To encourage fans to vote, Doritos and Pepsi MAX will give away two pairs of Super Bowl tickets every day of the voting period to consumers who make their selections through the official program website. More information about the four voting platforms and details about this vote-and-win offer, including official rules, are also available on the website.  

Each of the 10 finalists will win $25,000 and a trip to Dallas to attend Super Bowl XLV, where they will learn for the first time during the broadcast which six ads will air for a worldwide audience. Potential grand prizing for the contest will be based on how each of the six winning ads ranks on the USA TODAY Ad Meter:

• $1 million for an ad that scores the No. 1 ranking on the USA TODAY Ad Meter
• $600,000 for an ad that scores the No. 2 ranking on the USA TODAY Ad Meter
• $400,000 for an ad that scores the No. 3 ranking on the USA TODAY Ad Meter

If the consumer-created Doritos or Pepsi MAX ads sweep all top three rankings of the USA TODAY Ad Meter, an additional $1 million bonus will be awarded to each winner for a total prize giveaway of $5 million.

The USA TODAY Super Bowl Ad Meter tracks the second-by-second responses of a panel of viewers to ads during the national broadcast of the Super Bowl and ranks them favorite to least favorite.  Created in 1989, USA TODAY's Ad Meter has been regarded as the most influential Super Bowl ad rating in the advertising industry.

Doritos tortilla chips is one of the billion-dollar brands that make up Frito-Lay North America, the $13 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY.  Pepsi MAX is one of PepsiCo's billion-dollar global brands and is part of Pepsi Americas Beverages.  To learn more about Pepsi MAX, visit the Pepsi Max tab on Pepsi's Facebook page at: www.pepsimax.com or on Twitter at: twitter.com/pepsimax.  To learn more about Doritos, visit its website at www.doritos.com or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DoritosUSA.

PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines that each generates more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. Our main businesses - Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade - also make hundreds of other nourishing, tasty foods and drinks that bring joy to our consumers in more than 200 countries. With annualized revenues of nearly $60 billion, PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth, called Performance with Purpose. By dedicating ourselves to offering a broad array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing our environmental impact, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to our communities worldwide. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

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SOURCE PepsiCo