Six Consumer-Created Doritos and Pepsi MAX Ads Crash the Super Bowl Advertising Stage, Now Compete for $5 Million in Prizes

PLANO, Texas and PURCHASE, N.Y., Feb. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- PepsiCo's Doritos and Pepsi MAX brands gave six of their fans the chance to showcase their talent on the world's biggest advertising stage when they aired three consumer-created Doritos commercials and three consumer-created Pepsi MAX commercials during today's Super Bowl XLV broadcast. This year marked the first time in the five year history of the Crash the Super Bowl consumer-created ad contest that a total of six ads received airtime during the big game.  

The six winning ads included (in alphabetical order):

• "First Date" (Pepsi MAX) by Nick Simotas
• "House Sitting" (Doritos) by Tynesha Williams
• "Love Hurts" (Pepsi MAX) by Brad Bosley
• "Pug Attack" (Doritos) by JR Burningham
• "The Best Part" (Doritos) by Tyler Dixon
• "Torpedo Cooler" (Pepsi MAX) by Brendan Hayward

The six winning ads were among 10 finalists selected by the Doritos and Pepsi MAX brands from more than 5,600 submissions received as part of the contest – the most ever in a single year of competition. Four of the six spots that aired during the Super Bowl broadcast were selected through consumer voting – two for Doritos and two for Pepsi MAX. In addition, Doritos and Pepsi MAX executives each selected a winning spot for their respective brands.

Now, as Crash the Super Bowl enters its final phase, the creators of the six winning ads have their eyes set on achieving Super Bowl advertising history – achieving a full sweep of the top-three rankings of the USA TODAY Ad Meter by consumer-created commercials. If three of the consumer-created Doritos or Pepsi MAX ads accomplish this goal, their creators will take home a shared $5 million prize. In addition to the potential payout, the fan who creates the highest-ranking Doritos or Pepsi MAX ad in the USA TODAY Ad Meter will win a guaranteed contract to create an additional ad for the two brands in 2011.  

"Year after year, our fans have proven they have the creativity and talent to match up against the best in the advertising business, and this year was no exception," said Rudy Wilson, vice president, marketing, Frito-Lay.  "We're excited to be sharing this career-defining moment with our winners tonight, and hope this is just the beginning of many more accomplishments to come."

This year's contest marked the first time Pepsi MAX has partnered with Doritos for the groundbreaking contest. In addition to attracting a record-setting number of fan submissions, this year's Crash the Super Bowl also generated an unprecedented level of consumer votes.

"Being a part of Crash the Super Bowl this year has allowed us to share Pepsi MAX with a huge consumer audience in one of the best ways possible – through the passion and creativity of our fans," said Angelique Krembs, vice president, Pepsi Cola Marketing. "We are extremely proud of all six Crash the Super Bowl winners this year, and especially thrilled to have been able to showcase the creativity of the creators of our Pepsi MAX spots."

Potential grand prizes are based on how each of the winning Doritos and Pepsi MAX ads rank 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.

"First Date" (Pepsi MAX) – Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, 29-year-old Nick Simotas now resides in Southern California where he is an editor of a television program for kids. For his Crash the Super Bowl submission, he and his friend and co-creator wanted to do something completely different from their G-rated day jobs. The two decided to enter Crash the Super Bowl just one week before the submissions deadline after coming up with the concept for "First Date" while in the car, stuck in traffic. Clearly, a good idea can come from anywhere, and this one just might lead Nick to a cool million-dollar payout.

"House Sitting" (Doritos) – A working mother of two, 34-year-old Tynesha Williams says the idea for "House Sitting" came to her in the middle of the night while feeding her infant. The creative concept centers on a desperate house-sitter seeking to undo his damage before his friend returns home. When he discovers the intense healing powers of Doritos tortilla chips, he magically brings to life more than he bargained for, making for a most unexpected punch line.  

"Love Hurts" (Pepsi MAX) – Growing up in Leawood, Kan., 28-year-old Brad Bosley always knew he wanted to be behind the camera directing. When he heard about Crash the Super Bowl, Brad felt this could be just the creative challenge and big break he was looking for. In "Love Hurts," a girlfriend resorts to unsympathetic tactics to keep her boyfriend from indulging in unhealthy foods. One day she is pleased to find him enjoying a zero-calorie, maximum taste Pepsi MAX ... until he steals a glance at another woman and she unleashes an unexpected conclusion to the spot that delivers maximum laughs.

"Pug Attack" (Doritos) – For aspiring filmmaker JR Burningham and his fiancee/business partner Tess Ortbals, entering Crash the Super Bowl meant the possibility of turning their shared dream into a reality by creating a winning ad together. With little time and money, 31-year-old JR created "Pug Attack," which features a Doritos tortilla chip-obsessed pug whose master completely underestimates the dog's ability to get a taste of its favorite snack. A friend's goofy pug Oko-nono is featured in the ad, and in fact inspired the spot which took several "pug wranglers" and takes to complete.

"The Best Part" (Doritos) – As a satellite TV salesman, 35-year-old Tyler Dixon has been dreaming of making a living as a writer and filmmaker, and this win puts him one giant step closer to realizing that dream. With the help and encouragement of his friends, he decided to enter Crash the Super Bowl in hopes of achieving the big payout. "The Best Part" was inspired by what Tyler loves most about Doritos tortilla chips: the condensed flavor each chip leaves on his fingers.  In the winning ad, an awkward office worker seeks out the coveted Doritos cheese dust in unconventional ways.  

"Torpedo Cooler" (Pepsi MAX) – An SAT tutor by day and aspiring director by night, 33-year-old Brendan Hayward has always dreamed of directing commercials and films.  A Crash the Super Bowl finalist in 2010, his ad, "The Smackout," fell just short of making it to the big screen. Brendan is back again and plans on using any contest winnings to create additional speculative commercials. This year, Brendan created "Torpedo Cooler" – a slapstick take on the "bully vs. nerd" scenario, where a man sticks it to a bully with a volatile Pepsi MAX cooler.

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.

BROADCAST / PRINT / TV MEDIA: Broadcast quality video, photo stills and press information is available to preview, download and share at www.magicbulletmedia.com/MNR/crashthesuperbowl

SOURCE PepsiCo