This is the second time I’ve attended a Super Bowl game on behalf of the Doritos Crash the Super Bowl contest. The past week has been every bit as exciting as last year, if not more, considering we didn’t have any snowy, icy weather holding us back like in Dallas last year! In fact, we enjoyed terrific weather all week with record highs and lots of sunshine. Seems fitting given this was a record year for the contest as well, with the most consumer-created ad submissions ever and an unprecedented level of consumer votes. 
We had a jam-packed week with our five Crash The Super Bowl finalists (pictured at right, waiting for the big game to start) since arriving in Indianapolis last Wednesday. With the stress and competitiveness of the voting phase behind them, this was the first chance for many of them to relax a little and get to know one another. It was great to see how well they all got along – true camaraderie and a sense they all wanted each other to be successful.
We had an early start on our first full day in town, with all five finalists conducting dozens of broadcast interviews via satellite with television stations across the country, followed by many group activities leading up to the big game. As this year’s host city, Indianapolis had a lot to offer, including plenty of live music, delicious meals and the NFL Experience, an interactive theme park where Pepsi and Doritos brands both had a really awesome presence.
By the time game day rolled around, you could tell nervousness and excitement had set in for all five finalists -- and all of us, too. After all, two of these five guys were about to see their homemade work air for millions of Super Bowl watchers and had the chance to become instant millionaires.
By the end of the first half of the game, we had our two winners:
“Man’s Best Friend,” created by Jonathan Friedman and “Sling Baby” created by Kevin T. Willson. (Click the hyperlinks to view the ads.)
As this year’s contest winners, Jonathan and Kevin will be awarded one of the most exciting grand prizes to date: a guaranteed chance to work on a future Doritos project with one of the hottest entertainment teams in the industry today – The Lonely Island. That’s a huge opportunity for someone looking to get a foot in the door to Hollywood and the film industry.
And that’s not all. Since Jonathan’s ad took the No. 1 spot on the USA TODAY Ad Meter, he’ll also take home a $1 million bonus prize. For those keeping score, the Doritos brand has now had three consumer-created spots rank first on the USA TODAY Ad Meter in the last four years of competition, which is really incredible. When we asked him what he plans to do with the prize money, Jonathan told us “take a vacation and produce more films.” Sounds pretty good to me. Here’s a photo of the group after Jonathan saw his ad air (Jonathan in the middle in the black shirt).
My week in Indy has now ended, but this year’s Crash the Super Bowl contest is far from over. It’s now time for all of America to vote for their favorite Super Bowl XLVI ad on the inaugural USA TODAY Facebook Super Bowl Ad Meter, available at www.facebook.com/sports. In an exciting twist to this year’s contest, there’s a big cash incentive on the line if our finalists place well with fan votes. You can check out all the details in the official press release. So don’t wait – vote today, and let’s help make both our Crash The Super Bowl winners millionaires.
Congrats again to all of our Crash the Super Bowl finalists. We hope this experience helps catapult all of your careers, and we can’t wait to hear about your future success.
- Alexia
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