Exclusive: Doritos Crash the Super Bowl ad finalists say it’s not corny to follow your dreams

Doritos crush the Super Bowl The campaign is down to three finalists, and even members of the Kansas City Chiefs can see that their story is about more than just snack commercials.

It’s the first Crash the Super Bowl in 10 years, and after narrowing down the field from thousands of entries to 25 earlier this month, PepsiCo and Frito-Lay have their final contenders: Kidnapping, Hair salonAnd Charades.

The companies celebrated the milestone by tapping Chiefs Patrick Mahomes, Creed Humphrey, Chris Jones and Xavier Worthy, along with mascot KC Wolf, for a pun-filled spot that uses a focus group to brainstorm messages from the advertisements.

Now, until January 28, fans can vote for all three ads on DoritosCrash.com and decide which one will air during Super Bowl 59. The winning ad will be announced on February 3 and its creators will receive $1 million.

“The legacy of Crash the Super Bowl has always been that Doritos is a fan of its fans,” said Tina Mahal, vice president of marketing for PepsiCo Foods North America. “These latest three ads remind us that when a brand puts the fate of its biggest advertising moment of the year in the hands of its fans, incredible moments can happen.”

During the Big Game on February 9, Crash the Super Bowl will focus on Doritos and the brand’s slogan “For the Bold.” But at this point in the campaign, it’s the brand’s creators’ fan base, and ADWEEK gained exclusive access to the creators behind the final three ads to find out what led to their move into the spotlight of the Big Game:

Charades

As Mahal said, “incredible moments can happen” during Crash the Super Bowl. » It just didn’t happen for Mark Blitch ten years ago, when he entered his first two ads in the competition. A producer for a nonprofit video production company for nearly two decades, Blitch has enjoyed make short films with his friends and tried to find them a bigger stage.

“Although none of them advanced, it was a wonderful experience, so when a friend told me Doritos was bringing back the contest this year, I thought it might be fun to do it again,” said Blitch at ADWEEK.

Mark Blitch is hoping the third Crash the Super Bowl ad is the charm.PepsiCo/Frito-Lay

This time he made it a little more personal. Living in Wylie, Texas, married for 19 years and the father of two children, Blitch entered one of his sons in his competition, which features a father who can identify all the clues to charades but finds the answer elusive.

“Game nights with family and friends have always been a treasured tradition for me, so I thought charades was the perfect game and one that everyone loves to play,” Blitch said. “Everyone has a friend who just can’t find the answer.”

Hair salon

Zach Shenouda and Ryan Robinson met as high school sophomores in Orange County, California, and wanted to compete in Crash the Super Bowl years ago. Both longtime filmmakers, they entered the University of Southern California’s film program intending to direct feature films and commercials, taking inspiration from Crash the Super Bowl.

“When we found out they were bringing it back this year, as we were in our final year of college, we immediately knew we were going to submit something,” the pair said in a statement to ADWEEK. “We were behind in starting the process, so we quickly came up with a concept and put together a dream team of our friends and comrades at USC.”

Ryan Robinson, left, and Zach Shenouda have wanted this since high school.PepsiCo/Frito-Lay

With friends on hand to produce the spot, Shenouda and Robinson completed it in two weeks. They see the story of a young man getting a haircut – only to be distracted and ultimately undone by Dorito cheese on his barber’s fingers – as an opportunity to create opportunity in the industries they love.

“We’re both 22 years old, and to see millions of people watching something we made would be unreal,” they told ADWEEK. “As young artists, we believe we are equally capable of creating content that entertains, sells and moves people. This is a unique opportunity for us to take one step closer to pursuing our dreams.

Kidnapping

Further down the same career path, director Dylan Bradshaw and content creator Nate Norell are no less hopeful. Bradshaw moved from Columbus, Ohio, to Los Angeles in 2020 and worked on a feature film while creating spots for CeraVe, Credit Karma and others. Born in the Dominican Republic, Norell earned a degree in film and media arts from Biola University, where he turned his filmmaking skills into 6.2 million followers on TikTok.

Nate Norell, left, and Dylan Bradshaw see opportunity in these chips.PepsiCo/Frito-Lay

As their commercial, which features an unsuspecting snacker trying to snatch his Doritos from an alien tractor beam, makes its way before more than 100 million viewers, Bradshaw and Norvell know the opportunity presented by the largest group of discussion in the world.

“After countless sleepless nights and relentless effort, we are incredibly proud of the story we created to entertain both America and our loved ones,” they told ADWEEK in a statement. “Being chosen as one of three finalists is an incredible honor that could open life-changing doors and make our young people proud. »