The Soprano Dorito vs. Skittles’ Singing Rabbit

The Skittles Rabbit

I watch thousands of video contest entries every year and surprisingly I see very few obvious cases of plagiarism.  I’m not sure if this means that most video contest filmmakers respect other people’s content or if it means that they’re just smart enough not to rip-off anything that’s recognizable.

But every so often I do see contestants trying to pass off stolen ideas as their own.  And when I do see possible acts of plagiarism, I usually post it.  Why? Because ripping off another filmmaker is wrong…but ripping off another filmmaker in an attempt to make money is despicable.  It’s also straight up dumb.  If you win, eventually someone will probably realize what you’ve done.

Obviously, there are different degrees of plagiarism and the line between “inspiration” and “theft” are different for every one.  While I might not see flat out plagiarism much in video contests I do see a lot of low-grade copying.  By that I mean that non-professional actors will sometimes copy well-known characters or new writers will sometimes use lines they’ve heard somewhere before, (e.g., “That’s gonna leave a mark!”)  That kind of stuff doesn’t bother me because almost all viewers will realize those bits were copied from well known works.  Non-malicious copying is just something you can expect to see in videos created by young or new filmmakers.

But what does bother me is when professional (or aspiring professional) filmmakers consciously take ideas other people created, change them in the hopes that no one will recognize those ideas and then present a new work as if it was 100% original.  And that brings me to the point of this post.  The other day a reader sent me a link to a Doritos commercial that was submitted to the Crash the Super Bowl contest.  He said he thought the idea was a rip-off of a Skittles commercial from a few years ago.  I think he’s totally right.  The entry in question is called “The Soprano Dorito.”  It’s a pretty good ad and more than one person sent it to me and said they thought it was good enough for the finals.  Here it is:


And now here’s a Skittles commercial from 2006:

Yeah, both of those ads feature a lot of big differences.  But big differences don’t mean that the Doritos ad isn’t a rip off.  I can maybe see how two filmmakers could independently come up with commercial ideas about a guy who finds/gets an opera singing creature that he soon gets sick of and has to think about getting rid of.  But it’s the rainstorm scene in the Doritos video that seals the deal for me.  It’s like an artistic artifact from the original work that survived the adaptation process.  I guess it was just too perfect to leave out.  In my opinion, the fact that regret-during-a-rainstorm scenes appear in the middle of both ads reveals that the person who created this CTSB entry didn’t just steal an idea, they copied the mood, pacing and story arc of the skittles ad.

The Soprano Dorito is an incredibly well made entry.  It really does have a serious shot at making the CTSB finals.  It looks amazing, the acting is good and the CGI is funny (in a good way.)  On the CTSB site, the entry is credited to someone named Douglas Jessup.  I googled him and according to his website, Jessup is about to graduate from USC with a masters in film production.  Why do I bring that up?  Because a guy like that should know better.

I can understand how some might think I’m over-reacting by outing a complete stranger like this but idea-thieves always deserve to be called on their actions.  Because if they get away with it once, they’ll probably try again.  If you ever come across a video contest entry that you believe plagiarizes another work, let me know at .  Now if you’ll permit me a moment to cover my ass legally I’d like to point out that I have no direct proof that the makers of The Soprano Dorito plagiarized the skittles Singing Rabbit ad.  The points made in this post are just conjecture.  For all I know, the similarities in both ads could just be coincidences.

But one thing I do know for sure, that Dorito is a tenor, not a soprano.

12/1/10 UPDATE: A few people have left comments on the CTSB page for The Soprano Dorito saying they thought the entry was too similar to the Skittles Singing Rabbit ad.  The director left this comment as a response:

“DouglasJessup:  I wasn’t going to respond to the Skittles comments, but here: search “one froggy evening” – it’s an old WB cartoon. This was my inspiration…”

Frankly, I don’t buy that explanation.  The Doritos entry contains too many important elements that appeared in the skittles ad but didn’t appear in .  For example, in One Froggy Evening, the main character’s problem is that he can’t get the frog to sing when he wants it to.  But in the Skittles ad, the main character’s problem is that the rabbit won’t STOP singing ever.  The main character in The Soprano Dorito has the same problem as the main character in the Skittles ad.  The Opera-singing Dorito, like the Opera-singing Skittles rabbit won’t STOP singing.  The main character in One Froggy Evening tries to get rid of the frog because it won’t sing enough.  The main characters in the Skittles and Doritos ads try and get rid of their creatures because they are being driven crazy by the non-stop singing.

One more thing; a reader said that I must have written this post because I was “feeling the heat” of a competing video.  Just for the record, I did not enter the Doritos contest this year. So I have no dog in this fight.  I’m just an observer who thinks filmmakers should respect other people’s ideas and content.

12/3/10 Update: Doug Jessup, the creator of The Soprano Dorito left a comment to this post and provided a link to a blog entry explaining why he thinks I’m an idiot (check the comments for the link.)  If you ignore all the weird insults aimed at me, Jessup’s post kind of reads like a film school paper on how all great filmmakers copy ideas from one another.  Jessup also goes to great lengths to IMPLY that he didn’t copy ideas from the skittles ad but he never actually comes out and says he did NOT use it as a source of “inspiration.”

A reader named Scott posted a handy definition of what Plagiarism is in the comments.  To qualify as plagerism an artist must “steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own,” “use (another’s production) without crediting the source,” and “present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.”

After Jessup left his comment I left one of my own and asked him point blank, Yes or no, did he get any of the ideas for The Soprano Dorito from the Skittles Singing Rabbit ad.  I can tell from my my web traffic logs that Jessup has checked the comments for this post many, many times in the last few days but he has not responded to my question.  I think it is obvious that Jessup took ideas from the Singing Rabbit ad and because he is refusing to credit the ad as his source material and because he has gone to tremendous lengths to avoid citing his sources (creating a blog that implies he didn’t steal ideas from the Skittles ad without literally making that claim) I think this incident definitely qualifies as plagiarism.

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48 Responses to “The Soprano Dorito vs. Skittles’ Singing Rabbit”

  1. John says:

    I absolutely loved the Skittles commercial when it came out, my buddies and I would mimic that tune over and over again, we thought it was hilarious. I saw a list that included this one in someones top 5 and as soon as the bed/raining scene came on I knew something was terribly wrong.

  2. Doozer says:

    Maybe it’s just me, but I think both commercials are taking a page from that old Looney Tunes cartoon “One Froggy Evening”

  3. Eric (ericd_satx) says:

    Hmm.. That did look a little suspect. Now I have to start searching if my idea for CTSB is on YouTube just to be safe!

  4. Little Miss Sunshine says:

    I have to agree with “Doozer”, both spots seem to draw inspiration from One Froggy Evening (a CLASSIC, which I love by the way)
    While this inspiration is obvious, I would say the allegation of plagiarism is a little far fetched. Film, like many other art forms, is constantly reinventing old to make it new again. Re-making old plot lines, putting a new spin on an old classic, etc.
    While both these spots employ pathetic fallacy (or “regret during a rainstorm scene” as you call it), the rest of the two spots are quite different in mood, pacing and story arc.
    The Soprano Dorito is upbeat, funny and lighthearted. I find the humor coupled with the high production value give it a very cheerful and mainstream feel. In contrast, the Skittles commercial is going out of its way to be quirky and dark – something Skittles has been doing for years in its Ad campaigns. The singing is warbly and off sounding, the characters never speak to each other, the rabbit bites the man at the end.
    So yeah similarities definitely, but plagiarism? I don’t think so.
    Just my 2 cents.

  5. mightymattp says:

    I think you’ve examined too many contest entries and you’re holding them to higher standards than other media.

  6. Beardy says:

    Little Miss Sunshine,

    The differences you pointed out (one add is cheerful, one is dark, the different singing styles) are basically cosmetic changes. In my opinion, the director had to change some things otherwise it would be way to obvious where the idea came from. What’s important are the stories. Here is a synopsis of all three works you mentioned.

    One Froggy Evening: A guy gets a creature that sings showtunes and tries to make money off of it but it won’t sing for other people so he gets rid of it.

    Skittle’s Singing rabbit: A guy gets a creature that sings OPERA NON-STOP. At first he is excited but soon he can’t stand the singing anymore and tries to get rid of it.

    The Soprano Dorito: A guy gets a creature that sings OPERA NON-STOP. At first he is excited but soon he can’t stand the singing anymore and tries to get rid of it.

    I understand that filmmakers are constantly “reinventing the old” but the Skittles ad isn’t old. It was on tv just 3 or 4 years ago and apparently, people still remember it well. There’s a big difference between re-inventing a classic and copying something you saw on tv once.

  7. Beardy says:

    Mightymatt,

    If this wasn’t for the Crash the Super Bowl contest I wouldn’t have brought it up. Until now, when I written about plagiarism I’ve only focused on entries that have WON the contest they were made for.

    The reason this entry should be held to a higher standard is because if it won, it would have a 3 in 5 chance of airing during the super bowl. 100 million americans watch that game. If 100 million people saw this ad on tv, and just one percent of those viewers made the connection between the Soprano Dorito and the Skittles ad, that would mean that a MILLION people would be left with the impression that Pepsi just ripped off a popular skittles ad.

  8. John says:

    It is just wayyy to close to the skittles commercial, I know a ton of people have seen the skittles commercial and I know the Doritos people who are judging this contest have most likely seen the skittles commercial, so I would say this one will more than likely be thrown out in the first tier of videos that include zombies and lemonade stands.

  9. John says:

    I saw some other similarities with this video as well.

  10. mightymattp says:

    It’s up to Doritos to decide if the ad is novel or original enough to play in the Superbowl.

    To claim that an entry isn’t fresh because the idea is very similar to a recent popular ad is one thing, but to headline plagiarism is overboard unless you have proof. I give kudos to you for holding filmmakers accountable for the originality of their work – but there is a degree of fair use. I’m not an expert, but quick googling reports that plots can’t be plagiarized and you seem to claim that the plots are the same. I would think that scripts, commercial copy, or taglines can be plagiarized.

    I think the test for what can be unethically plagiarized would be what can be legally copyrighted.

    Maybe the filmmaker did see a good idea and roll with it, maybe not. Maybe Skittles did the same thing when they saw the singing bush in “The Three Amigos”.

    That said, seeing someone obviously copy ideas does make me cringe – If you want to see what I consider a plagiaristic rip-off in a UGC, check out this one that won barely beat my entry. I can’t believe a huge company like Gibson guitars rewarded such unoriginality!

  11. Antolini says:

    John makes a good point by posting the SpaceBalls clip as compared to “One Froggy Evening.” Obviously this cartoon, which Steven Spielberg has quoted as “the Citizen Kane of animated film” and is ranked 5th best cartoon of all time, has influenced many storytellers since its debut. I have been a fan of your website for quite a while now but I think you are doing quite an injustice to the director of this commercial by posting this article, especially so blatantly (and incorrectly)labeled “Plagerism Alert.” Spaceballs directly copied nearly every aspect of the singing frog (including the song, top hat, dance, etc.) yet was nowhere near guilty of “plagiarism.” Little Miss Sunshine was absolutely correct in stating that art and film is constantly “re-inventing the old.” By drawing inspiration from this amazing and popular cartoon, the director of this commercial is simply doing what all artists do. He has taken a very popular concept and morphed it into his own story with original dialogue. Are the Skittles and Dorito commercial similar? Yes. Are they both funny and directly related to “One Froggy Evening?” Yes. Is this anywhere near plagiarism? Absolutely not. Using rainstorms metaphorically has been a favorite and oft-used theme throughout cinematic history and therefore your claim that the director “copied the mood, pacing and story arc of the skittles ad” is wholly untrue. I don’t think anyone who has made a commercial would agree that the mood or pacing of these two commercials are the same. As a veteran commercial director and previous video contest judge I believe the casting, acting, lighting, punchline, and dialogue of this commercial is top-notch and warrants no such claims as you have made.

  12. John says:

    Antolini, Spaceballs was a parody, the doritos soprano was not a parody of froggy. The fact is that soprano is not original enough to win this contest. Just because a video has great production value isn’t enough to seal it as a top 5 video. I didn’t think the Singing dorito was funny, and the ending was boring. I’ve seen singing objects a million times.

  13. John says:

    Here is Jessup’s interpretation of the “Zombie Fake-Out”.

  14. Antolini says:

    John, I realize this and my point was that the entire “plagiarism alert” is unwarranted. Say what you will about your take on its humor and its ending, but wouldn’t you agree that the tagline of this article is far and away over the top? Beardy is generally spot-on with this type of “unpleasant crap,” but not in this instance. I suggest opening this forum under a more benign heading and letting the viewers of videocontestnews voice their opinions.

  15. Beardy says:

    Matt and Antolini,

    Guys, guys…there is a HUGE difference between PARODY and PLAGIARISM. Matt, the Gibson ad you linked to wasn’t a rip-off. It was a parody. The big joke of the ad is that it’s a take-off on the MasterCard “priceless” commercials.

    And Anolini, if you’re a veteran commercial director you should know better than to try and compare the Alien gag in spaceballs to what the creator of the Soprano Dorito did. Of course Mel Brooks copied every, single aspect of the singing frog. That’s the joke! It’s a parody. But if the maker of the Soprano Dorito was trying to PARODY one froggy evening he did a terrible job since it has almost nothing in common with the cartoon. The main character has a singing creature. That’s the only similarity.

    The point of a parody is to do your own version of a famous work. Parodies are funny because people recognize what you’re doing. But if you copy something and try and change it enough so that people WON’T recognize it, that’s just plagiarism. In my opinion, it’s unquestionable that the guy who made the Soprano Dorito copied key elements of the Skittles and and tried to pass it off as his own, original work. The director himself said that One Froggy Evening and not the skittles ad was the inspiration for his entry. So either he is lying or all the simmiarities are amazing coincidences.

    Matt is right when he says that plots can’t legally be plagiarized. But that doesn’t make copying someone else’s material ethical.

  16. Beardy says:

    Antolini,

    Ok. To be fair, the title of this post was “Possible Plagiarism Alert: The Soprano Dorito.” “Possible” is an important qualifier. But I changed the title to something less incendiary.

  17. Antolini says:

    You’re correct Beardy I should have used the word parodied, not copied, the point being is that plagiarism is not an issue here. These two commercials are similar, yes. These two commercials are also hilarious and well-made. This trope has been used countless times as others have pointed out and it has been used so much because it works. period. Should we deem every “annoying-object-who-gets-on-someones-nerves” scene plagiaristic? No. Should we deem using rainstorms metaphorically plagiaristic simply because they’ve been used before? No. Even if the skittles commercial was a source of inspiration, the director re-created it in a completely different manner and one that I think fits well within every aspect of your personal (and well made) CTSB litmus test.

  18. Hello, my name is Douglas Jessup – I am the writer/director of “The Soprano Dorito”.

    I want to thank the commenters who have come to my defense in this ridiculous matter, as they have presented many of the same disputes I have found with this post.

    If you’d like to check out my response to Beardy’s post on my alleged “plagiarism” you can read it in full at the following address:

    douglasjfresh.blogspot.com/2010/12/possible-false-accusations-alert-video.html

    Thank you very much.

  19. mightymattp says:

    I disagree. A parody by definition is using a work in order to poke fun at or comment on the work itself. Therefore the Gibson entry didn’t parody the MasterCard commercials – it used the same concept and the same tagline for the sake of creating content in order to win a contest that was supposed to be judged in part on originality. Plagiarism uses exact quotes without credit or permission, parody doesn’t. Plagiarism is “Ice, Ice Baby” by Vanilla Ice, parody is “Just Eat It” by Weird Al.

  20. Beardy says:

    Douglas,

    Thanks for leaving a comment. I read your blog post. I’m also a pretentious film nerd and I’m tempted to try and top all your Conrad Hall/Coen Brothers talk but I will restrain myself and keep this brief.

    Douglas, to me it seems like you went to very great lengths in that post to IMPLY that you did not use the Skittles ad as “inspiration” without literally saying that. Are you willing to state here that the Skittles’ Singing Rabbit ad had ZERO influence on The Soprano Dorito? Did you get ANY of your ideas from the skittles ad?

    As for the rabbit, yes he is singing opera. He’s doing a creepy, shrill version of Libiamo ne’lieti calici from La Traviata. Wikipedia tells me your right…your dorito is singing Figaro’s Aria and Figaro is a Baritone. But my guess of “tenor” was a lot closer than “soprano.”

    In your post you say that you suspect that I am “threatened” by your entry and that my post is an attempt to “put you out of contention.” For the record, I did NOT ENTER THE DORITOS CONTEST this year and I don’t personally know anyone who did. Even if I did enter the Doritos contest there would be no reason for me to try and put you out of contention in the contest. You put yourself out of contention. The performance of Figaro’s Aria (or maybe it’s a generic sound-a-like) you used in your entry was not one of the pre-approved pieces of music supplied by Doritos. The rules say you can’t use any music other than what was in the asset tray. So plagiarism or no, your entry will be disqualified.

    Thanks for being a fan of the site.

  21. Gershom says:

    John: Why did you send a link to Jessup’s ‘Zombie Fake-Out’? Is it similar to another ad?

    The Gibson Ad: I don’t know why that won. complete rip off. looks like crap. maybe not many better spots submitted into that contest.

    Jessup: I agree that the ad is different enough to be a contender. It is well made and funny. I know you directly copied the singing dorito from the skittles singing rabbit, and not the looney tunes frog and you saying that you got it from the singing from tells me you think everyone is an idiot and it seriously undermines everyone’s intelligence. Telling the truth always helps…but I think the spot is different enough. good luck.

    Also, Jessup, I read your response to this article on your blog, and I think it’s childish to go after Beardy for misspelling words and countless other stuff. Beardy hasn’t stooped that low, so you shouldn’t either.

    In the end, I think you should have just admitted you got the inspiration from the singing skittles, and good luck because I don’t think you directly plagarized (I think it’s misspelled, so please don’t make fun of me :O) the spot. Gershom

  22. The Baritone Dorito says:

    Wait, shouldn’t I get a say in this?

  23. Scott says:

    Maybe it would help things along if someone posted the actual definition plagiarism?

    “What is Plagiarism?

    Many people think of plagiarism as copying another’s work, or borrowing someone else’s original ideas. But terms like “copying” and “borrowing” can disguise the seriousness of the offense: According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, to “plagiarize” means

    * to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own
    * to use (another’s production) without crediting the source
    * to commit literary theft
    * to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

    In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else’s work and lying about it afterward.”

    That is from http://www.plagiarism.org/plag_article_what_is_plagiarism.html

    I don’t think anyone can deny that parts of the skittles commercial were copied for the soprano dorito. The director is crediting one froggy evening as his source not the skittles commercial. And he is trying to pass off someone elses jokes and ideas as his own. How is that not plagiarism?

  24. Antolini says:

    Scott,

    Try coming up with an original idea and then see if it hasn’t been done in some similar form or another before as in this instance. From your exhaustive online search for the definition of plagiarism I can see that you’ve never been involved with any type of actual case involving said accusation. Even saying the word plagiarism publicly is a slippery slope, let alone specifically accusing somebody of it. There have been countless instances of personal defamation suits filed against “whistleblowers” who were not careful in their wording in public forums such as this. Beardy did himself a solid by changing the title of this article and as a “whistleblower” he needs to stay on top of such things, especially in a forum where a court of law could easily conclude that his actions caused irreparable harm to someone or someone’s work. It may be a blog and it may be opinion-based, but in a public forum everyone is on the same playing field when it comes to serious accusations that can be deemed libelous.

  25. John says:

    So Antolini, you’re saying if Doritos Soprano doesn’t win they should sue beardy for libel? Beardy is not going to change anybody’s minds on this matter what-so-ever. The judges are intelligent and will make the right choice for who the top 5 are.

  26. Beardy says:

    Antolini,

    First of all, let’s get something straight. You’re a friend of Douglas Jessup’s right? Or maybe you worked on the Soprano Dorito? That would make more sense. When you leave a comment on this site wordpress records your IP address. And I have code built into the site that tells me which IPs access it, when and what they look at. Your IP tells me you’re in Torrence, CA and Doug Jessup’s IP says he’s in LA. So you’re about 18 miles apart. Plus, it looks like you guys are frequently looking at the website at the exact same times. I’ve seen this type of thing before. People who are mad at someting I say here call or IM their friends and ask them to take their side. I guessing douglas doesn’t want to leave another comment because then he would have to answer my question about whether or not the skittles ad had any influence on his entry.

    You have really crossed the line by trying to intimidate me with talk of a lawsuit. OPINION and CRITICISM are protected under the first amendment. You say there have been “countless incidences of personal defamation suits filed against “whistleblowers” who were not careful in their wording in public forums such as this.” Wow, really? Can anyone name one? Can you name anyone case where someone was sued because he explained why he SUSPECTED someone of plagiarism?

    If you want to start talking about all the ramifications that could maybe possibly happen because of this then why don’t we talk about the countless cases of Graduate students who are thrown out of school for plagiarism every year?

    I’m not going to let you insult other commenters and lob veiled threats at me on my own site. I’ll leave your comments up but your IP is banned from leaving any more. If Douglas Jessup has something to say he can say it himself.

  27. Beardy says:

    Scott,

    Thank you for your link. Despite what some people may say I think it perfectly puts this whole thing in perspective. This line sums it up perfectly, I think:

    “In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else’s work and lying about it afterward.”

    I believe that key elements of the Soprano Dorito were taken from the Skittles ad and Douglas Jessup is going to tremendous lengths to cover up his actions. If you take ideas and don’t cite your sources, that’s the textbook definition of plagiarism.

  28. BH says:

    Dude, all you guys tryin’ to attack beardy are ridiculous; it’s a feeble attempt to keep you being consider for the finals. This submission will undoubtedly be considered a rip off and, though I know the reality of it hurts, the director should think twice about his “inspiration” next time he directs something.

    Antolini your attempts to bully Beardy into silence is a farce, it’s a joke. Beardy, do you thing bro, call out hack work when you see it.

  29. Beardy says:

    Thanks BH, I appreciate the comment.

  30. Ron says:

    Guys,

    1.These contest are made for us, let’s not destroy them by pushing away the Brands.

    2.I’ve watched both commercials, and one froggy evening.

    The Soprano Dorito vs One Froggy Evening similarities
    A.Singing Dorito
    B.Guy gets excited when the Dorito Sings
    C.Guy shows Psychiatrist
    D.Rain in room indicates no escape and Depression

    One Froggy Evening
    A.Singing Frog
    B.Guy gets excited when the Frog Dances and sings
    C.Guy is sent to Psych Hospital
    D.Jail bars indicates no escape and Depression

    Overall, there are similarities between all three mentioned. There’s one guy who truly knows whether or not he based his ideas off of Skittles concept and that’s the director of “Soprano Dorito” we can all make assumptions, but that’s all they are.

    Besides, the folks over at Goodby & Silverstein along with Doritos determines what’s original and not original. Even if they shave points from originality there’s so many other concepts that uses nut shots, and other things that that have been done over and over and they’ll be on equal playing field when it comes to “original” meaning in the long haul production value and the fact that it has a good story behind it will be enough to push the commercial into the finals.

    I’ve actually read his response over on his blog, and he goes to explain in detail how he came up with his idea. Can I determine if he’s telling the truth? Absolutely not. Can beardy or anyone else determine if he’s telling the truth? Absolutely not.

    Bottom line it’s a great spot, and we’ll all see if it makes it to the top 5, I actually think it’s better than the skittles spot.

    And apparently someone guy over at the bog of the director of “The Soprano Dorito” Claims he knows who beardy is. Which I think is totally stupid who cares.

    Nothing personal beardy. But, I must admit I was curious to know who beardy is.

    He have the nerve to call himself mustachey. Even though it was funny for one second that guy is a total dick!

  31. Ron says:

    Interesting fact that I came across. Beardy I just looked at your post that shows your commercial and last years Finalist “Casket” Number one I have to say that was more of a rip off then anything someone clearly copied of someone I can’t say who copied who b/c there’s no proof who came up with it first.

    Only stamped items such as emails would prove who came up with the idea first even if you posted your commercial first.

    But, my point being those two commercials “Both Casket” were almost identical it didn’t stop the commercial to making it to the finals.

    So I don’t think that it’ll stop “The Soprano Dorito” from making, and the skittles commercial and Doritos are not even in the same contest.

    SMH

    These contest are something else.

  32. Beardy says:

    Ron,

    RE: The Casket commercials. I found this out after the fact but I uploaded an “animated storyboard” for my Casket full of doritos video about 3 days before the writers of the other casket video met to pitch each other ideas. My theory is that one of them got ready for their pitch meeting by going to youtube and watching other videos tagged “doritos.”

    By the time I notified Doritos in December, 2009 “Casket” was already on their very, very short list of possible finalists. Their investigation into the issue amounted to them asking the makers of “casket” if they stole the idea. They of course said no and that was it. After the super bowl, I exchanged many e-mails with he write of “casket” and he said some things that convinced me 100% that my video had inspired their entry.

    So…that’s one reason I feel the need to call out plagiarists. I don’t want to see another filmmaker rewarded for stealing ideas.

    As for the “Who is Beardy” question, I had no idea that was an issue. I post about myself all the time. Tons of people who read this site know who I am. It’s definitely no secret.

  33. Ron says:

    I hear you, I personally didn’t care who you are, but for someone reason other people do.

  34. Ron says:

    I also hear you on cheaters, however if you and I were to sit in a room and watch every single submission.

    I think out of the estimated 4000 submissions that 90% would be accused of Plagiarism.

    So I don’t think it’s fair That you called out 1 submission out of Roughly 4000 and accused him of Plagiarism.

    1. I didn’t watch all 4000, but I can tell you hundreds of “ads show kids/grown ups hitting adult guys in the balls”

    2. I can’t tell you how many shows the old cheesy fingers.

    3. What about guys dressing up in woman’s clothes?

    4. How about tackles?

    5. How about Charades?

    6. Dorito Rehab spots?

    7. What about girls sucking fingers imitating fellatio?

    8. Or flatulence by pets?

    I mean I can go on and on finding several similarities in one spot within 90% of the spots submitted.

    Why his spot?

    I’m eager to find out who makes the top 10. Especially since I submitted to Dorito & Pepsi several times. Two of my spots were very well polished, funny, and COMPLETELY original that I do know.

    Will I make the top 10 I don’t know? I can tell you at the end of the day as I stated before “Goodby, Silverstein, & Frito lay will decide who makes the top 10.

    “Quote” So…that’s one reason I feel the need to call out plagiarists. I don’t want to see another filmmaker rewarded for stealing ideas”.

    If that’s the case you have a lot of work to do, you have a lot of submissions to continue to review and a lot of people to call out on plagiarism.

    My two cents!

  35. John says:

    Tackles, women’s clothes, and cheesy fingers are devices that people are unaware of being unoriginal when they enter these contests. “Hey! don’t you think it would be hilarious if we…tackle a guy licking a girls fingers”, “yeah dude! That would be hilarious”. They aren’t blatantly copying someone else. There are original ideas, you just have to find a new way to introduce something. I can’t wait to see the top 5…that’s all I have to say. all this talk is irrelevant, just like sports discussions leading up to the superbowl, it isn’t over until it’s over.

  36. John says:

    Let’s move on people. No one from doritos is going to see this blog and it’s not going to make a difference on the top 5. Soprano Dorito has just as good of a chance as anything is 1 in 3500 or so. We’ll see who comes out on top Jan 3rd.

  37. John says:

    And don’t want to spoil anyone’s holiday, but if you haven’t gotten a call or email from Doritos by Dec 23rd you probably didn’t make the top 5. Control what you can control. It’s in the judges hands and everyone did the best they could so be proud of your submission and be happy.

  38. Beardy says:

    Hahahah. Hey Ron! Are you sure you don’t “personally care” who I am!? Because YOU ARE “MUSTACHEY!” In real life you’re a filmmaker named Orundi Colvin. It amazes me that you would rip into me with such fury and hatred on Douglas Jessup’s blog using a fake name and then come on here and try and leave a bunch of friendly comments. You even called Mustachey a “Total Dick!” What the hell is wrong with you? What did I ever do to you to make you e-stalk me, call me childish names and mock my work? On Jessup’s blog you seem disgusted and personally offended by my list of “Top 30 Pepsi Max contenders.” I’m guessing your hate comes from the fact that your entry did not make the list:

    /#/gallery?video=2931

    Sorry If I didn’t think your your entry has a serious shot at winning. But if you want to be a filmmaker you have to accept that not everyone, everywhere will thing that every single thing you create is the greatest thing ever.

  39. Ron says:

    LOL that’s totally not me. I think you posted that so I can link my entry which I’m not going to do.

  40. Ron says:

    I live in Grand Island NY that filmmaker is from Virginia! Also why is my last post not posted?

  41. Gershom says:

    Hey John or Beardy, is the 23rd the date they usually get to the finalists? Have you heard something like this before?

  42. Beardy says:

    Uh, yeah Ron…that is you. This is the e-mail you used to leave your comments: . That’s the same e-mailed used to register Orundi Colvin’s facebook page. On Doug Jessup’s blog you said you were using an IP blocker so I couldn’t find out who you were. But you didn’t use the blocker when you were web stalking me. Just before “Mustachey” left hateful comments about me on Jessup’s blog, my production company’s website got a ton of hits from your Grand Island, NY IP. I can tell you even downloaded photos of me which is pretty creepy.

    Ron, your IP is banned from leaving comments. Goodbye, stalker.

  43. Beardy says:

    Gershom,

    Last year Doritos called the finalists and told them they made the top 6 a few days before Christmas. BUT…I think they plan to do things differently this year. I remember reading somewhere that the plan was notify finalists that they had made it until the day of the official announcement.

    By giving the finalists 3 weeks notice it increases the chances that the news will leak. It also gives finalists time to create websites and stuff to get votes for their entries. But if the finalists have no idea they made it they won’t have any time to prepare for the voting. So the vote would be less of a popularity contest.

  44. Gershom says:

    Wow, that’s awesome! I think that’s the best way to do it…wait until the 3rd…also, amid all this drama I saw your original casket spot…great job! I’m so freakin sorry man…Doritos should have banned their spot. That’s just crazy stuff!

  45. Shane Free says:

    they won’t wait until the 3rd, the finalists will have paperwork to fill out etc, they will know at least a week in advance, probably more.

  46. The Baritone Dorito says:

    I love it. This is like watching an episode of Jerry Springer play out in a blog. Actually, it’s like WikiLeaks, but more serious.

  47. ken H. says:

    Beardy, I’ve been reading your site all year and you’ve always been tough but fair. When you go after a$$holes they’re going to react like a$$holes. They’ll bitch and complain and call you names but the one thing they’ll never do is admit they did something wrong even when any person with a brain can see that they did. Someone has to stick up for those of us that actually play by the rules. So keep doing what you’re doing and don’t worry about the haters.

  48. Beardy says:

    Thanks very much for that comment Ken. I appreciate the sentiment. And you’re right, pretty much every time i call someone out on plagerism or cheating or whatever I get harrassed and called names not because what I said is untrue but because the culprits are pissed that someone caught on to what they’re doing.

    Ok…anyway, I think I should take Ken’s comment as an opportunity to end this discussion on a positive note. So comments for this post are now closed.

    If you have something crucial you’d like to tell me about this issue feel free to e-mail me at .


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