Indiana Brothers Win $1 Million in Doritos Ad Contest
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
That must have been the motto of the two brothers from Indiana whose creative use of a snow globe won them the $1 million grand prize in Frito-Lay’s latest “Crash the Super Bowl” consumer-generated ad contest. Joe and Dave Herbert of Batesville, IN, were finalists in last year’s contest.
The winning and runner-up ads both aired during Sunday’s Big Game.
The brothers defeated four other finalists in Doritos’ third annual ad contest, which sought ads for the brand to air during the Super Bowl. Thousands of people voted for their favorite spot between Jan. 5 and Jan. 25
The ad, called “Free Doritos,” featured a man smashing a vending machine with a crystal ball after predicting free Doritos. It took the top spot in USA Today’s Ad Meter, earning a score of 8.46, beating out Anheuser-Busch for the first time in 11 years. The USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter tracks viewers’ responses to ads that air during the national broadcast of the Super Bowl and ranks them favorite to least favorite.
This is the first year Doritos offered the $1 million prize.
The second-place winner’ spot, “Power of the Crunch” by Eric Heimbold of Venice, CA, also ran during the Big Game. In that spot, the main character spirals through a series of extreme indulgences and ultimately self-destructs.
Doritos received 2,000 submissions in the contest.
Doritos plans to air all five finalists’ commercials as part of its 2009 television advertising campaign. Visitors can watch the ads.
This is the third user-generated contest Doritos has run tied to the Super Bowl. Last year, the company ran a separate contest asking people to submit an original song for the brand for a shot at a record deal. Doritos aired the song as a music video during the Super Bowl.
The Marketing Arm handled P-O-P, OMD in New York was in charge of media, Goodby Silverstein & Partners oversaw advertising and Ketchum worked on PR.
