Today on Snack Chat, Chris Kuechenmeister, Director of Public Relations at Frito-Lay, shares a recap of this week's events in Miami, Fla., as he and the Doritos brand team host the six finalists in this year's Doritos Crash the Super Bowl contest.
I’ve never had the opportunity to spend time with an NFL team as it prepares for the Super Bowl. So, I can only imagine the intensity that builds over the last few days before the game and the focus needed to refine strategy and prepare mentally for what is sure to be a moment the players dreamt of all of their lives.
In contrast, I’ve had the chance to shadow a different kind of team heading into the same Super Bowl weekend. They too are full of hope, excitement and anxiety as the big game approaches. Although this team does not pass, punt or kick, they do bring a high level of skill and talent to the table with a desire to win that is just as fierce as a Colt or a Saint. These are the creators of Super Bowl ads.
Frito-Lay’s Doritos brand once again held its Crash the Super Bowl contest this year putting its Super Bowl advertising in the hands of its fans. Consumers were given the challenge of creating original 30 second ad spots for Doritos for a chance that their video be aired during the game’s national broadcast.
Six finalists were selected from more than 4,000 entries, and three winners were selected by nationwide consumer vote. The winners will be unveiled to America – and the finalists themselves – during the actual Super Bowl broadcast. Nobody will know who won until then.
We’re hosting the six finalists here in Miami this week, and they will be attending the Super Bowl in a stadium suite where the suspense of whose ads will air will be as thick as a nose tackle’s neck. During the broadcast, our finalists will watch to see who will score the biggest gig possible for an aspiring ad or film maker . . . Super Bowl air time. By the way, the brand has put a potential $5 million on the line if the three winning ads sweep the top-three rankings of USA Today’s annual Ad Meter. So this is no casual tailgate shindig.
All of the finalists arrived Tuesday and attended our traditional “welcome” dinner with members of the Doritos brand team. These guys come from all walks of life with a range of experiences, and they couldn’t be nicer people.
Dinner conversation was light, and you could feel a level of camaraderie in the room that set the evening apart from a traditional mixer where people don’t really know each other and serve up small talk simply because it’s polite. While these guys were just getting to know each other, there was a familiarity among them and a respect they extended toward one another – perhaps because they realized they now were a part of a fraternity of sorts only a handful of other creative people had experienced. You could see the admiration for each other’s talents and the pride each felt in being a part of this one-of-a-kind Super Bowl team.
They shared projects they were working on, discussed doors that were already opening through this contest and compared war stories from weeks of campaigning to encourage people to vote for their entry. While all very different, these were six dreamers cut from the very same cloth.
The experience continued Wednesday with a media blitz at Sun Life Stadium in which TV stations from Miami to Sacramento, and everywhere in between, interviewed the Doritos finalists. And despite starting very early in the morning, the finalists’ energy levels were high as they eagerly shared their work with the world. They were chummy with each other, they were supportive and they continued to develop a bond through this shared experience.
The week will continue along these lines with more media exposure, parties to attend and a complete A-list experience that could one day seem old hat if their careers take off from here.
I have to wonder, though, how things will shift as we get closer to Sunday. Game faces are sure to emerge and the intensity will change as we head over to the stadium and settle in for a night of football and a night of lives changing in a matter of 30 seconds. When our three winners see their hard work beamed across the television screens, they will instantly realize their futures have opened in ways never before imaginable. This is the moment they have always dreamt of, and Doritos and Super Bowl XLIV will be a part of their stories wherever they go from here. I wish all of them luck as we head into game day.
- Chris
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