Aussie entry ‘Doritos Manchild’ makes Top 10 cut in global Doritos ‘Crash the Super Bowl’ contest

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DORITOS-MAN-CHILD.jpgFinalists from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States vie for a US$1 million Grand Prize and a dream job with Universal Pictures

Doritos has unveiled the 10 consumer created advertisements that have been selected as finalists for the annual “Crash the Super Bowl” contest. PepsiCo’s popular snack brand has presented some of the most talked-about Super Bowl commercials of all time and for the ninth consecutive year, the brand will turn over the global stage to two bold fans who have created homemade Doritos advertisements. For the second year in a row, Doritos has opened up the competition to fans around the world and this year’s finalists include a record four advertisements from outside of The United States, including ‘Doritos Manchild’, created by filmmaker Armand de Saint-Salvy from Australia.

Last year, Australia was well-represented by eventual runner-up ‘Finger Cleaner’ and this year de Saint-Salvy is determined to take it a step further and take out top honours.

The 10 finalists, hailing from Australia, Canada, The United Kingdom, and the United States, were selected from nearly 4,900 submissions representing 29 countries around the world. Two of the 10 television commercials will be selected to air during Super Bowl XLIX, the championship game of the National Football League in the United States, which is viewed annually by more than 100 million people around the world. The grand prize winner will be selected by fan votes on doritos.com and the other spot that airs will be selected by the Doritos brand. Fans can view all 10 of the finalists and vote for their favorite until January 28.

The grand prize winner will win a guaranteed $1 Million USD grand prize, as well as an opportunity unlike any other in the history of the contest: a chance to work as a contractor for a full year onsite at Universal Pictures in Hollywood.

The 10 Crash the Super Bowl finalist ads (in alphabetical order) are:

“Doritos Angler” by James Bedford, UK

“Baby’s First Word” by Travis Braun, USA

“Selfish Sneezers” by Devon Ferguson, Canada

“The Lemonade Stand” by David Horowitz, USA

“Trouble in the Back Seat” by Jason Johnson, USA

“Mis-Spelling Bee” by Brian Kleinschmidt, USA

“What Could Go Wrong?” by Alex Pepper, USA

“Doritos Manchild” by Armand de Saint-Salvy, Australia

“When Pigs Fly” by Graham Talbot, Canada

“Middle Seat” by Scott Zabielski, USA

The 10 finalists were selected from 29 semifinalist advertisements by a qualified panel of judges, including executives from the Doritos brand, advertising professionals, and actress/producer Elizabeth Banks — who is making her directorial debut on “Pitch Perfect 2” and has starred in critically acclaimed films such as “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Seabiscuit,” and “Pitch Perfect,” as well as global franchises like “The Lego Movie,” “The Hunger Games,” and “Spider-Man.”

“It has been an incredible experience to lend a hand in selecting the finalists for this year’s Crash the Super Bowl program,” Banks said. “I’m excited to see which ad captures the hearts of fans and which filmmaker will win the life-changing opportunity to work at Universal.”

“Doritos fans continue to impress us with their creativity and enthusiasm for the brand,” said Ann Mukherjee, president, PepsiCo Global Snacks Group and PepsiCo Global Insights. “When we started this contest nine years ago it was one of the first and best examples of user generated content, and the brand was bold enough to present it on one of the world’s biggest stages.

“Carrying on that tradition, this year’s entries are some of the best ads we’ve seen yet and in only the second year since we opened up the contest to a global audience, almost half of the finalists come from outside of the United States. We have 10 outstanding advertisements and I look forward to seeing which ad fans will select to take home the grand prize.”