Note: Scroll down if you want to just skip my blabbering and see which 6 entries we recommend Doritos consider for the finals.
Since the passing of the November 9th deadline I’ve tried to watch as many of the entries for this year’s Crash the Superbowl contest as I could. But alas, Beardy is only human and I probably managed to look at only 2,800 or so of the 4,069 submitted videos. That means chances are good that I completely missed some of the most awesome submissions. So, though I’ve said that I planned to announce this website’s predictions for which entries will make it to the final 6, I don’t think that’s really a fair thing to do.
Instead, I’m going to completely ignore some of the highest quality spots that I saw and post 6 entries that I really enjoyed but that I suspect Doritos may overlook. So let’s call this list VideoContestNews.com’s official recommended CTSB entries! Before I get into my humble video recommendations, I’d like to first make one general recommendation to the judges of the Crash the Superbowl contest: Think Small.
While watching all those entries, I saw a lot of very, very well made and expensive spots but with two or three exceptions, none of the high-budget/high concept submissions had much heart. On the other hand, I did see a number of really cool, really creative commercials that seem to have been shot by semi-pros and amateurs using consumer and “prosumer” grade video cameras. But a little googling will tell you that 4 of the 5 finalists last year shot their entries with RED One cameras. Don’t know what that is? It’s a very, very high-end camera that starts at about $17,000. So it’s clear that last year Doritos wanted the slickest commercials that filmmakers outside of the ad industry could make. (If you can get your hands on anything nicer that a RED camera you’re probably already a well paid pro.)
And all of last year’s finalists were stellar. They were slick enough to look like actual TV commercials but they were also funny, subversive and surprising. But after watching almost 3,000 of this year’s entries I just don’t see many that had top notch production values and were also FUNNY and ORIGINAL. Basically this year’s slickest entries just come off as hollow versions of “real” commercials.
So what happened? Two things I think; One, Doritos put up millions of dollars in prize money and then marketed the contest like crazy. So tons of people who never picked up a camera before jumped on the bandwagon. And two, all of last year’s finalists were so F***ing amazing that many pro and semi-pro filmmakers assumed the bar would be way to high and didn’t bother to enter. People like that know the look of the RED camera and they did the math in their head and realized that to be a serious competitor, you’d need to have access to a RED camera (or at least a high end HD camera). So right off the bat you’re already looking at a budget of $1,000 to rent a RED camera for a day. And not just any shmuck can run those. So unless you’ve used one before, throw in another $500 for a D.P. who knows what he’s doing. So that’s $1,500 minimum. And I’ll tell you, it takes a very, very special person to be willing to gamble that much money on a production when they see that 3,000 entries have already been uploaded.
So basically this means that there are two kinds of good videos among this year’s batch of entries. There are cool, funny, inventive videos that were made by non-pros or semi-pros who used consumer and prosumer level gear, and there are ok, but not super funny, big-budget entries that feature pretty graphics, lots of fancy but unnecessary dolly shots and in some cases, established characters actors, B-list celebrities and in one case, a semi-well known indie band.
My recommendation to the CTSB judges is to forget the slick, not-so-funny entries and give a few of the littler guys a shot. The first year that Doritos ran the Crash the Superbowl competition (2006), the winning commercial had a budget of only $12! That’s probably why so many pros jumped in in 2008. (Doritos did something else for the superbowl the year in between) They knew that if they could make a funny spot that also looked like a “real” commercial, they could crush the competition. Well this year I don’t think the pros delivered and so Doritos should do something bold; forget about only picking finalists that look like “real” commercials. Obviously they can’t air a spot with crappy lighting and muffled sound during the superbowl, but they can and should give serious consideration to the “prosumer” level filmmakers that submitted. If they don’t, I don’t think CTSB spots will go on to take all three top spots in the USA Today ad meter.
And making the “Top 3” of the Ad meter is the entire point of this contest. That right there is exactly why Doritos should go with videos that are attention-getting and big on laughs, rather than videos that are super-slick but only mildly amusing. And while the point of the contest is to make the top 3, the MESSAGE of the contest is that if given the chance, creative, regular Joes can beat the Madison Avenue crowd at their own game. Even many of the people in the Ad Meter poll will understand that’s what this contest is about and I suspect they will give extra points to the CTSB finalists IF those finalist videos actually look different that all the other spots that air during the game.
What I’m saying is that Doritos should pick at least a few finalists that are a little ROUGH AROUND THE EDGES. Yes, they might be seen by 100 Million people and yes they will stick out like a sore thumb. And that’s why it’d be great! If you’re watching the game and all of the sudden, some crazy thing that some dude shot in his back yard comes on the TV, you’re going to sit up and take notice. And if that “imperfect” ad makes you laugh, then it has been a success, even if only cost 12 bucks to make. If Doritos wanted to shoot a commercial featuring Flavor Flav they could seal that deal during a single lunch meeting. If they wanted to cast the secretary from Ferris Bueller in a commercial they could make that happen in less than 4 phone calls. And if they wanted their own version of the Dos Equis “Most Interesting Man in the World” commercials they could have a team crank that out in a week. So why should Doritos pick spots that an ad firm on Madison Avenue could slap together without breaking a sweat? If you’re going to create a new and completely different way to get your superbowl commercials, shouldn’t the commercials you get actually seem completely different than everything else that’s going to air during the game?
Anyway, that’s my 2 cents. Finally, here are the 6 entries that I really hope Doritos considers for their 2010 Crash the Superbowl finalists. These are in order with #1 being my favorite:
#6. Don’t Be that Guy by “Moedirty.” Video #2530
This spot really only has one thing going for it; the super-serious guy at the end. But you know what? That guy is PERFECT. If this aired during the Superbowl the next day people in offices all across the country would be saying the hot new catchphrase “You have to leave.”
#5. Want More? by “Shonky.” Video #2081
If this commercial was shot by a major ad company you wouldn’t think about it twice. But knowing that it was just a couple of crazy dudes who made this adds a sweet level of insanity to it.
#4. So Worth It by “tgo0116.” Video #307
This is a Superbowl-style comedy of errors commercial shot for (probably) nothing. But that low-budget, indie look gives it the heart that so many of the slicker entries are lacking. This guy wanted to win so bad he cut a hole in his mother f***ing roof. Hell yeah.
#3. Doritos Make Everything Better by “Keithhopkin.” Video #951
It looks like it was shot for a high school film class but this will keep viewers smiling all the way through. The shot of the dog wincing when the Doritos fall on him might hurt this video’s chances but the dog probably didn’t mind, right?
#2. Battlestations! by “Laserbunny.” Video #4097
This one has actually got some nice effects but it still has a nice indie vibe to it. Despite the CGI they use, the “fractal Dorito” was apparently real. I think this one can make the official Top 6.
#1. Wrong Commercial by “knewacheck.” Video #3742
This commercial is just flat out stupid…and I love it. It’s so weird and goofy and you can tell that it was made for fun. Maybe the “Got Milk” bit at the end will cause a copyright problem big enough to keep it out of the finals but I hope not. The spot’s absurd but it’s absurd in a very smart way. Right off the bat, the characters let the viewer know that what they are seeing is a commercial submitted for a contest. That gives the spot license to be imperfect and look like it was made by three random knuckleheads. But I’m over thinking it. It’s funny and it works, that’s all that should matter.
Now as I said, I also shot an entry for this year’s competition but of course it’d be pretty shady of me to include it in my top 6. So instead I’ll just place a link right here if you want to check it out:
http://www.crashthesuperbowl.com/#/video/1983
Despite all my talk about low-budget spots, I shot my entry on HD and it cost about $1,600. We even through a crane shot in there! Do as Beardy says folks, not as Beardy does. We used a prosumer HD camera though so I consider it to be a “medium-sized” production. Plus it is sorta rough around the edges I think.
So what do you think folks? Are we right or are we crazy? Did we overlook any potential winners? Let us know in the comment box. And because I can’t help myself, check back on Friday to see which two, more slickly-produced videos we predict will make it to the finals and the Superbowl.
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I appreciate your wanting to give everyone an opportunity to shine, but I don’t see any of these spots as “great”. Don’t be that Guy is probably the best one here and I can’t see that playing during the Superbowl. Agree with all of your comments about Ferris Buehler and Dos Equis and appreciate you giving us this forum. Looking forward to seeing what 2 “slick” spots you think will make it.
yo,
check it out
http://www.crashthesuperbowl.com/#/video/1806
Hey Beardy,
I agree with a couple on your list – So Worth It – being the best, and your thoughts on the big budget entries. I used the Panasonic HVX200 HD camera for my entry – check it out below. The compression online does not reflect how good the image really looks. Can’t wait to see the finalists – Good Luck everyone!
http://www.crashthesuperbowl.com/#/video/4199
#5439? Heart or no heart?
Iilya,
#5439 is very, very slick and well produced but I don’t really think it fits what doritos is looking for. 100% of the past CTSB finalists have been comedies. And that entry isn’t funny (i don’t think it was meant to be.) So while the quality is amazing, I think that if aired during the superbowl it would kind of fall flat. It’s good enough to air on TV and it’s one of the best video contest entries I’ve ever seen, but during the superbowl, viewers expect to see something really off the wall and unique. And that spot feels like it could have been produced by any madison ave. team and in this contest, that’s a bad thing.
Hey Beardy,
Thoughts on #3415 ??? Thanks
Kent,
That one’s cute but it’s not laugh out loud funny. Don’t get me wrong, it’s amusing but it’s not really crazy or unique enough for the superbowl. Doritos is probably going to want commercials that would be talking about the next day around the water cooler and that’s not really a “water cooler” type of spot.
Nice set. But don’t forget “HoneyhaveuseenmyDoritos?”
http://www.crashthesuperbowl.com/#/video/1959
We would like to be in the crop circle…too.
Beardy:
I’d love to know what you think of ours…
http://www.crashthesuperbowl.com/#/video/2581
I know zombies were a common theme this year but still…
Kerry,
That’s one of the best zombie spots I saw. Lots of nice attention to detail. Even the clothes the girl was wearing reminded me of what an actress would have worn in an 80′s horror film. But like you said, zombies were very popular. I have to have seen at least 15 entries that feature zombies going after humans but at the last second they go for their doritos. So your originality score will really take a hit, Plus, like I said about the last video, it’s a very well done spot but it’s not quite crazy of surprising enough for the superbowl.
Good Afternoon,
Check it out and let me know what you think! Good Luck to you Beardy….I like your site…well done! Merry Christmas
I really enjoyed your theories on commercial entries and you make many valid points. I do NOT however believe the videos you chose to be “good” at all. I was a marketing major and the number one thing the curriculum always stated was “an idea should first and foremost SELL your product”. Sure there are commercials that don’t push a particular product at all, but still have a successful selling rate, but thats not always the case. I too entered the contest and I incorporated humor, culture, different kinds of people to connect with a vast audience as well as incorporated every flavor of the product for sale. I hit each corner that a Marketer should try to hit when selling a product, yet not one person commented on my video. I made a commercial consisting of an athlete, a politician, a hero, a religious figure, a few animals and ended with what else other then a football player. I targeted every race, age and gender within my audience and I think thats key when issuing such a campaign. Most of the other videos incorporated humor or sex and thats why I chose to do something entirely different in hopes that the judges would appreciate an entirely new and fresh idea. It was definitely enjoyable to make and I wish it would have worked for Doritos. Better luck next year I guess
~Kathleen
http://www.crashthesuperbowl.com/#/video/1538
Kathleen,
Thanks for commenting and I’m glad you’re enjoying the site. I want to respond to your comment but I want to say up front that you shouldn’t take any of this personally. It’s just constructive criticism.
So…ahem…I did see your spot and I actually ranked it the number #1 choice for my “WTF were they thinking? awards.” You can read that post here:
http://videocontestnews.com/?p=758
Your entry was well made but you broke some of the most fundamental principles of marketing. I’ll just come right out and say it; you earned the number 1 spot because incorporated 9/11 into a wacky superbowl commercial. From your explanation I understand that your goal was probably to pay homage to the rescue workers at the World Trade Center site. But it comes off as really weird and totally, 100% inappropriate. Plus it doesn’t really make sense. The WTC site has been clean for 8 years now but your character’s world tour seems to be happening in real time.
The point of this contest is that sometimes regular Joes can create funnier stuff than professionally trained marketing types. In your case, I think the fact that you were a marketing major really hurt your entry. You set out to create the “perfect” commercial that would be all things to all people. I know your goal was to make a commercial that featured “a politician, a hero, a religious figure, a few animals etc” but what was the spot about? The spot was about you. (I presume that’s you in the commercial) So while the spot features lots of different types of people, it sort of feels like you are using them as props. No Indian would see the shot of the Taj Mahal and feel included and no Obama supporter would get excited that you had a barack-double in there. Now…if you had included all those people, places and things but not yourself, that would be different. Then the star of the spot would be the Doritos and how people from all walks of life cold enjoy them. By putting yourself in there, you make yourself the star. Since you are not a celebrity you’re just a stranger to anyone who sees the spot, so why should the audience care what you have done to bring people together with tasty chips?
So I think you over-thought things. As you said, “an idea should first and foremost SELL your product.” But your commercial doesn’t do that. Your spot seems to be designed to be selling YOU. The human eye is always drawn to a human face in an image. So each time a new photo comes up, the viewer instinctively looks at your face. Then the image changes before they have a chance to notice that you used a different flavor of Doritos in each shot.
You clearly put a lot of work into your spot and you at least managed to get my attention! So next year I think if you run your ideas past some collaborators you should be able to come up with a memorable (in the right way) entry. And don’t worry about the lack of comments or views. Most entries that were uploaded like a week before the deadline didn’t get seen by many people because 100’s of entries were appearing every day at that point.
Hey Beardy,
Thanks for the response, and trust me I am taking what you say as nothing other then constructive but I would like to clarify something. First off, thank you for taking the time to watch the video as well as responding to my message. That was NOT me in the video, rather it was my twin sister. The idea was about a young woman taking a trip around the world with her favorite snack and coming in contact with some amazing people on her journey that also enjoyed “her” snack. The pictures were supposed to be a photo album documenting her trip. I would be selling HER if she was the only one in the shots, which clearly she isn’t. You had a traveler, an exotic location, and a person related to that precise place and then a different flavor chip. We tried to incorporate a number of places and people which I agree did hurt us because each picture was limited to 3 seconds. For the record, my twins face was the only one showing because I thought that was the interesting concept…..that you could not see the strangers face but you knew there was a nun, a famous soccer player, Obama, etc. I was not insinuating anything with September 11th and that was not the purpose of that shot. I wanted a hero and the photographer picked that photo background and once the video was completed, there was no time to change it….that was not my intention. I wanted a Firefighter at a site…not that of the World Trade Center. I am surprised however that I got the #1 “WTF were you thinking” countdown, I guess the ones of women having orgasms in a bed of doritos or multiple women wrestling in a baby pool full of chips didn’t stun you. I watched yours by the way…cute! Good Luck and Merry Christmas!
Hey Beardy, I would like to hear what you think of our martial art entry. Mainly because of your brutal honesty, your like Simon from A.I. but for commercials. I know there was a few kung-fu entries but I felt ours had an authentic feel to it. Thanks!
#4326
Luke,
Ok, here we go: Over all I liked the spot and it was very well done. The martial arts were believable and the girl was very cute. I really liked the bit where the sword rips open the bag. But…I think there are a lot of factors that would keep Doritos from wanting this spot.
The big problem is that if Doritos wanted to do an ad featuring martial arts, they could just do it themselves. The point of the contest is to find an idea that is so off the wall, only some random, incredibly creative person outside of the ad industry could come up with it. So your spot is one of the best martial arts entries I’ve seen but martial arts is kind of a cliché idea. Not to be harsh but it doesn’t take a creative genius to come up with something like that.
While your video is impressive as a video contest entry, it wouldn’t be very impressive on TV. People have seen so many martial arts themed commercials that to be new they have to be way, way, way over the top of have some kind of special hook. You had an interesting idea where the two people are transformed into martial artists but a low budget version of that idea doesn’t seem special enough. A million dollar version of that idea might get people’s attention but a low budget version just isn’t very exciting.
And that’s why Doritos encouraged everyone to be FUNNY above all else. Because you don’t need money to be hilarious. So if your video had some kind of crazy, laugh out loud twist at the end, I think it would have had a shot. But like I said, it was a good effort overall.
Let’s see, hmmmm I’ll just blurt it out here: since who knows how many consider the halftime rendition of our national anthem to be to the Superbowl kind of like eggnog is to Christmas, 9/11 still reverberates in many parts of the nation like a rallying cry. So it’s also mentioned indirectly in the comments to
http://www.crashthesuperbowl.com/#/video/1959,
with an open ended option to tie it in with the spot as well. Glad to see that discussion both for and against inclusion of WTC themes are still alive like a watercooler sound feed..:)
Surprised you didn’t think ours was well done #406.
Jeff,
Hey there, just saw your comment so I thought I’d respond. Just because a submission didn’t make my list it doesn’t mean I didn’t think it was well done. Your commercial was well done but it had some things I didn’t like in it. The biggest issue is that I probably saw at least 20 other entries that featured men and women trying to seduce their spouses by covering their bed or their body with doritos. But the punchline bothered me too. Unfortunately you chose to feature plain corn doritos in your video. I live in the midwest and they don’t even sell those around here. I only know those were plain corn doritos because I goggled “yellow bag of doritos.” Knowing that the doritos are “plain” the guacamole punchline makes sense. But anyone who has never seen plain dortios before will have no idea what the punchline means or they will go to their local grocery store looking for a product that is only avaible in certain regions. But even if the chips were sold everywhere, the commercial implies that doritos alone aren’t good enough for that guy. It’s almost like you’re trying to sell guacamole and not doritos.
Another thing that bothered me is that the actress is way, way too attractive…at least for the actor you used. The hot-wife/funny fat guy combo is a cliche and it works against you in this ad. The actor rejects both his hot wife and the doritos and that makes him unlikable.
Hi..would love your thoughts on:
http://www.crashthesuperbowl.com/?gclid=CPPLx9OP9Z0CFZg42goddk-OJw#/video/1492
THANKS!!!!
ittchu,
It’s cute spot and very well shot and edited. But it’s sort of slow. There’s only one joke in the entire 30 seconds and that comes at the end. So I spent most of the time waiting for something funny to happen. The punchline was funny but I think an amped up version with more jokes/slapstick would have been more effective.
thank you!!!
that was my daughter Kayli in the video…
I appreciate the feedback!
*Janna*
Beardy,
I would like to get some feedback from you and your readers in our submission. Was this one of your 3,000 that you viewed? This was named “FOOSBALL GUYS”.
Thanks
Thanks for taking the time to comment. However, you may want to watch it again. First of all, the end of the commercial he jumps his wife – doesn’t turn her down. Second, the tag line “The Next Best Thing” is selling the product. Third, we have another version #1012 with a different tag line that covers the guacomole issue for those that just don’t get that it’s a joke. And lastly, like your casket idea – ours was the first posted and by far the most well done of that genre. By the way, the three you suggest are finalist are terrible.