Doritos Crash the Super Bowl Contest Is Down To The Final 10

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05 Jan, 2015, 14:00 GMT

-- Finalists from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States Vie for a $1 Million USD Grand Prize and a Dream Job with Universal Pictures

-- View the Consumer Created Advertisements and Vote for Your Favorite on Doritos.com

PURCHASE, New York, Jan. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Doritos today 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.

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 www.doritos.com and the other advertisement that airs will be selected by the Doritos brand. Fans can view all 10 of the finalists and vote for their favorite on www.doritos.com through January 28 at 11:59PM CST.

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 by finalist last name) 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."

Each of the 10 Crash the Super Bowl finalists will win an invitation to attend Super Bowl XLIX and watch the game from a private suite, where they will tune in to learn which advertisements will air for the world to see. The eight finalists whose commercials do not air during the broadcast will each win $25,000 USD. The runner-up whose advertisement airs, but does not receive the most fan votes, will win $50,000 USD. The Super Bowl XLIX broadcast is set for Sunday, Feb. 1, 2015, on NBC in the United States and local broadcast networks around the world.

About Doritos
Doritos is one of the leading brands from PepsiCo's (NYSE: PEP) global snack portfolio. To learn more about the Doritos brand, visit its website at www.doritos.com.

About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $66 billion in net revenue in 2013, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

At the heart of PepsiCo is Performance with Purpose – our goal to deliver top-tier financial performance while creating sustainable growth in shareholder value. In practice, Performance with Purpose means providing a wide range of foods and beverages from treats to healthy eats; finding innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment and reduce our operating costs; providing a safe and inclusive workplace for our employees globally; and respecting, supporting and investing in the local communities where we operate. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

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About Universal Pictures
Universal Studios Universal Pictures is a division of Universal, (www.universalstudios.com). Universal Studios is part of NBCUniversal. NBCUniversal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group and world-renowned theme parks. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.