PepsiCo's Doritos and Pepsi MAX Brands Dominate USA TODAY Ad Meter With Consumer-Created Super Bowl Commercials, Awarding $1.4 Million In Prizes

Press Release Source: PepsiCo On Monday February 7, 2011, 4:58 am EST

PLANO, Texas and PURCHASE, N.Y., Feb. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — PepsiCo’s Doritos and Pepsi MAX brands last night made Super Bowl advertising history when four consumer-created ads scored within the top-ten rankings of the USA TODAY Ad Meter. Consumer-created Doritos commercial, “Pug Attack,” achieved the No. 1 Ad Meter ranking, winning its creator JR Burningham $1 million and a guaranteed contract to create an additional television ad for Doritos and Pepsi MAX in 2011. This marks only the second time in history that a consumer-created ad has topped the USA TODAY Ad Meter. In addition, consumer-created Doritos ad, “House Sitting” landed the third-highest Ad Meter score, winning its creator, Tynesha Williams, $400,000. The fourth-highest Ad Meter score went to consumer-created Pepsi MAX ad, “Love Hurts,” created by Brad Bosley.

A total of six consumer-created Doritos and Pepsi MAX ads aired during the Super Bowl broadcast. In addition to “Pug Attack,” “House Sitting” and “Love Hurts,” Doritos and Pepsi MAX also aired “The Best Part” (Doritos), “First Date” (Pepsi MAX), and “Torpedo Cooler” (Pepsi MAX) during the big game. All six winning ads were among 10 finalists selected by Doritos and Pepsi MAX from the more than 5,600 submissions received as part of this year’s Crash the Super Bowl contest. Consumer votes determined four of the six spots that aired – two for Doritos and two for Pepsi MAX. In addition, Doritos and Pepsi MAX executives each selected a winning spot for their respective brands.

“We knew our fans would bring exceptional talent to this year’s contest, and we’re thrilled to award $1.4 million to help JR and Tynesha set off to pursue their dreams,” said Rudy Wilson, vice president, marketing, Frito-Lay. “We know this is just the beginning of so much more to come in their careers.”

Aspiring filmmaker JR Burningham and his fiancee/business partner Tess Ortbals created “Pug Attack” with little time and money. The ad features a Doritos tortilla chip-obsessed pug whose master completely underestimates the dog’s ability to get a taste of its favorite snack. Tynesha Williams’ “House Sitting” features a desperate house-sitter seeking to undo his damage before his friend returns home. When he discovers the intense healing powers of Doritos tortilla chips, the house-sitter magically brings to life more than he bargained for.

This year marked the fifth anniversary of Crash the Super Bowl and the first time Pepsi MAX partnered with Doritos for the contest. The program attracted a record-setting number of fan submissions and generated an unprecedented level of consumer votes.

“We congratulate all of our talented fans and especially our finalists who got the opportunity to see their work on the biggest advertising stage in the world,” said Angelique Krembs, vice president, Pepsi Marketing. “The past year has been so exciting for Pepsi MAX as we re-launched the brand and saw sales double. And now, we can’t wait to build on this success as we work with JR to create an additional ad for Doritos and Pepsi MAX later this year.”

This year, all 10 Crash the Super Bowl finalists received $25,000 and a trip to attend the Super Bowl. Grand prizes were based on how each winning ad ranked on the USA TODAY Ad Meter:

$1 million awarded for an ad that scores number one on the Ad Meter
$600,000 awarded for an ad that scores number two on the Ad Meter
$400,000 awarded for an ad that scores number three on the Ad Meter

If the consumer-created Doritos or Pepsi MAX ads swept all top-three rankings of the USA TODAY Ad Meter, an additional $1 million bonus would be awarded to each top-three winner for a total prize giveaway of $5 million.