Time's up!
Well D (for Doritos) is finally here. Right now it’s 4PM on November 21st which means you only have eight hours left to submit your 2011 Crash the Super Bowl entries. And then tomorrow the wait begins! I get a lot of e-mails this time of year and usually people want to know when Doritos will contact the finalists. The official rules state that Doritos will notify the finalists within 6 weeks. But 6 weeks from today happens to be Monday, January 2nd. During the last installment of The Crash, the finalists were announced on January 3rd. I’ve talked to a number of past finalists and it seems like Doritos usually calls the winners (yes, they’ll actually call you if you make the top 5) just before Christmas. But the contest did start a little later than usual this year so what the heck do I know.
Right now, there are already more than 1,500 submissions posted in CTSB gallery. But when the orange dust settles I bet there will be close to 2,800 entries. That’s a lot less than in year’s past but the lower number is probably because this year, the contest moderators have been doing a great job of keeping people from uploading multiple entries. In past installments, it seemed like every 10th video was a repeat. I guess people uploaded the same videos over and over because they weren’t sure if their submissions went though.
But 2,800 submissions is still a crazy amount. And guess what? This year I have made it my mission to watch every, single CTSB entry! If you watched 2,800 thirty-second commercials in a row, it would take you 23.33 hours to get through them all. But to be honest, I’m not watching every entry from start to finish. In fact, I usually click the “next” button on most entries after about 10 seconds. You see, my goal is to find all the submissions that have a good chance of making it to the Top 5. So if an entry has major technical problems that I suspect will keep it out of the running, I skip it. And after like 15 seconds if I’m not hooked I usually move on to the next video.
This method saves me a lot of time but it isn’t exactly thorough. Sometimes I get in the zone and I skip past videos before I really give them a chance. So readers, I need your help. If you see a really awesome Crash the Super Bowl entry, let me know! And yes, you can send me your own submission if you think it’s especially great. In about two weeks I will post a list of all my favorite 2011 CTSB submissions. How long will the list be? I have no idea! Instead of doing like a “Top 50″ I’m just going to link to every ad that I think is good enough to win….and maybe I’ll throw a few personal favorites in there as well.
So if you have a great entry you want to show me, click the comment button and post the link. Or you can e-mail me at . As always, I’m happy to do a mini-review of every ad you guys send me. I’ll try and be gentle but I’ll also be honest. Just a couple rules; please, don’t ask me to critique an entry that you didn’t help create. Also, I can only do public critiques. So if you want me to give you notes on your submission, post it in the comments section rather than e-mailing it to me. And finally, Full Disclosure: I did shoot a CTSB entry of my own but I will try and be objective and fair….even though my entry is easily the best this year!
Good luck everybody. If you get a call from Doritos saying that you made the finals, be sure to let me know! Yea sure, that would probably get you disqualified but I totally promise to keep your secret…
Posted in 
Tags: 
I’d like to know what you really think. I just saw this site.
/#/gallery?video=12934
/#/gallery?video=12227
Hey Beardy! I have really enjoyed your site over the past month and your doin a great job! So we did the “Doritos In Time” series and here is the three videos that we did. We did an Egyptian, Mayan, and the Wright Brothers. Thanks again for viewing these! Cant wait to hear what you have to say!
Egyptian:
/#/gallery?video=17547
Mayan:
/#/gallery?video=16335
Wright Brothers:
/#/gallery?video=16315
Heather,
Broken Cape: This one is funny and….ok, to be honest I can’t get into doing a review for this video. Why? Because for the last two week it seems like every CTSB entry I have watched has a comment that says “Hey, great job, be sure to check out Broken Cape!” So instead of reviewing this video, I’ll review your team’s spamming techniques. No one likes those comments and you should knock it off. It’s annoying and pointless. The CTSB judges apparently don’t even see comments and views. So whoever is spamming the other videos is just hurting your chances if you make the finals. Who will want to vote for the people that spammed hundreds of entries?
As for your video, like I said, it’s funny. It might even be a long shot contender. So just play it cool and wait to find out if you won. At this point there’s nothing you can do that can help your chances.
jmmka81,
First word: This one is cute, well shot and nicely edited, The story is kind of slow though. I knew right away that the kid’s first word would be “Doritos” so I just spent the whole ad waiting for the punchline. It would have been great if you had throw a curveball and surprise me somehow,.
Sorority Girls: You…WTF did I just watch??? It was kind of funny and looked great but man, this entry could never in a million years win this contest! It was basically the opening scene to a porno. Since Janet Jackson’s nipple slip, the Super Bowl has become squeaky clean. Two sexy sorority girls jumping into bed together would never fly. And the jokes about “getting off” are way too suggestive to. I think this is a very well made video but it just is not right for this contest.
Not gonna happen darling: Thos one reminded me of First Word. Again, the video looked great and the ad was very well made but the punchline was very predictable, And again, I was hoping for some kind of curveball that never came. You and your teammates clearly have a lot of talent. I think next year you might want to focus on making one killer script. You for sure have the talents to win if you shoot the right idea.
JP,
Crunchline: This was a neat idea and you did a good job executing it. But I think it needed something else to happen. Maybe the homeowner could have come in and eaten the comedian. I think this was a cool set up but after 15 seconds I wanted the story to evolve. Awesome job on making or getting a tiny microphone though and good bag puppet-work too.
Sasha,
Doritos Paradise: Man, I had high hopes for this ad. It felt like it was going to get really crazy. The location was great, the camerawork was nice, the actor was funny and the premise had a lot of potential. But then it didn’t really go anywhere. I thought we were going to see the microscopic Doritos world. I think we needed to see why the guy would want to shrink himself.
more reviews to come…
Boyd submitted ‘Danny’for review.
/#/gallery?video=11231
sorry, beardy
thank you for taking time to have a look.
in defense of the director, i was told a while back to stop spamming.
just to be sure, when told to, i did stop a few weeks ago.
CTSB is new to me and i’ve learned my lesson from both his and your counsel.
Hey man! Great site! Let me know what you think of our spot. Thanks! -Mark
/#/gallery?video=13862
Please check out my Doritos commercial. I think the idea works, I am just hoping there is some love for getting my kids to pull this off!
Hey Beardy,
I was hoping you could check out the alternate ending version of my entry, “Gravity”, that you reviewed back on November 27th. I really think you will like the revised ending:) Cheers!
Michael “Pixelphile”
By the way, the original version has over 13,000 views on Vimeo.
Did we make the cutoff to hear get your mini-review, oh champion watcher of Doritos commercials?
Seriously, Zombies!
/#/gallery?video=14057
Laundry Day
/#/gallery?video=14440
Doritos: Date Auction
/#/gallery?video=14020
Doritos: Worth the Kick
/#/gallery?video=14171
Henry Chen,
Take Seven: I’m afraid I just don’t get this ad. Why would the director instruct the child actor to be disappointed by receiving Doritos? I think this idea has some potential but to work it would need to be much “bigger.” A single shot of one character talking into the camera for 20 seconds is just too slow for the super bowl. But a high energy, fast paced version of this ad might be kind of exciting. But there would have to be a good explanation as to why the kid would be disappointed by his present.
Wanda McCoy,
I’m sorry to be blunt but those videos just aren’t the kind of thing that has a chance of winning this contest. I don’t mean to be a jerk, it’s just the truth. Dortios accepts videos that weren’t shot it HD but they wouldn’t actually pick a non-HD video as a winner. Next year, before you shoot anything be sure to check out Doritos’ youtube channel so you can see what kind of entries make the finals.
Andrew B,
Doritos in Time: All of these ads were cool and they were very well made. Excellent production values and lovely cinematography. The Mayan one was especially impressive. But I think you may have created something that Doritos just can’t use. You created a trilogy instead of a stand-alone 30 second commercial. There are only 5 finalists slots. The other 5,000 people that entered this contest would go berserk if Doritos gave 3 of the 5 slots to a 3 ads in a trilogy. Maybe Doritos would pick just one of these but then the “Doritos in time” part would make no sense. We’re you hoping that Doritos would pick all three ads?
Boyd,
Danny: Excellent cinematography on this one. Everything looks very professional. It’s a cute little story too. My only criticism really is that it isn’t laugh-out-loud funny. So it’s not really the type of shocking/wild/outrageous humor that Doritos always goes for. It’s a good as but the content might not be right for this contest.
More reviews to come….
Hey I just saw this posting and would love for you to check out our spots. Stage5 Productions is a team 20 of graduates from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and we pooled our resources and talent to create these 4 spots for the Crash.
you can see fast links to all four spots here: http://www.stage5doritos.com
or the individual links here:
Doritos: Worth the Kick
/#/gallery?video=14171
Doritos: Date Auction
/#/gallery?video=14020
Doritos: Laundry Day
/#/gallery?video=14440
Doritos: Seriously, Zombies!
/#/gallery?video=14057
Thanks! looking forward to your opinion.
Mark,
No Big Deal: The guy playing jim was great. He made the ad. Overall, the video was funny and it kept my attention. I was hoping for a crazier, twist ending though. It seems like Doritos prefers ads that don’t have a ton of talking and fast talking is something they have always avoided. I’m guessing that their theory is that popular super bowl commercials are more about action and less about talking. I also think that the production values in this ad could hurt you. Everything just looks kind of dark and drab. There was a Doritos finalist ad last year that was set in an office and the setting look bright and colorful. No mater how great an idea is, people will get turned off if the commercial looks dreary.
Andrew,
3 little devils: This is a very strong concept but the video itself had a lot of issues. First, the commercial is filled with copyrighted images. The logo on the boys shirt and the sign on the door and the design of the tent and most especially, the girls’ shirts. I’m sorry to say that all those logos and stuff will make your ad un-airable. (but hey, live and learn) Another issue: The lighting is very sharp and there are lots of shadows. I recommend you light your videos by placing a bulb in a china ball. (Ask for them at Pier 1 imports) They will make your light much softer and more even. Like I said this is a good idea and the kids all did a very good job. I think if you had some help from some pros you might be able to make a very strong entry next time.
Pixelphile,
Gravity: Yeah, that ending is better. Though the shot of the girl coughing up the dirt kind of came off as disturbing. Maybe because the actress looked like she was going to throw up in the guy’s face.
CC,
Seriously Zombies: This is a very well made ad but um…rather than review it I’ll just refer you to this article I wrote last year: https://videocontestnews.com/2010/10/14/know-your-tropes-zombies/
Laundry Day: Looks great and I like all the production values. I don’t think it’s crazy enough to make the Top 5 though. It really needed some insane payoff. Also, I don’t like weirdness for weirdness sake. It would have been nice if there was some kind of explanation for why the Doritos did that to the washer.
Date Auction: Oh man, I was seriously considering doing a contest entry about date actions! Anyways, I’m afraid I simply didn’t get this idea. The older woman had already won the “# 8” guy right? So why was she also bidding on a woman in the auction? And was she so excited that #8 won her? Was she planning to make the two do…stuff…for her amusement? I like the auction-gone-wrong angle though.
Worth the Kick: This was the best of the bunch. It was a nice, simple and funny story. However, these days the super bowl is totally PG rated. I think the “adult situations” portrayed in this ad are too hot for a family program like the super bowl.
Beardy,
As you have time would love to hear your thoughts on this link- this year, next year- whenever, have really enjoyed following your thoughts and critiques the past two years of this competition.
/#/gallery/?video=16175
otto
Otto,
Ok…one final review.
Crunchtime, This was a pretty impressive production. You really made a cool video. Great camera work, choreography and editing. The problem is that it wasn’t funny. I know it wasn’t meant to be but never once has doritos ever picked a CTSB finalist that wasn’t funny. Still you should be very proud of this entry. If you can get everyone to do it again, I suggest you shoot another video like this for a different video contest.
And that’s it FOR REAL this time! Thanks to all you guys for posting your videos. For the sake of my own sanity, I have to end the review period for 2011. Feel free to continue posting your links but I won’t be able to write any more critiques. Good luck to everybody!
Beardy,
I hope you are doing well. Please review my ad if you have time. Here is the link.
/#/gallery?video=16915
Peace,
Pete
Pete, thanks for post your link but as I’ve said, review time is over for this year. If I keep doing them, people will keep asking for them and I just don’t have the time to do more. Sorry about that.
Would love your $0.02 on our submission entitled Food Fight Blitz!
/#/gallery/?video=16854
And perhaps our alternate version as well:
Thanks!
Hope you enjoy this one.
/#/gallery/?video=15008
Beardy,
I wanted to post here before it was too late for several reasons. I submitted a video to your blog that you gave a very forward review towards, and for that I thank you. My taze the flavor entry you viewed was of an old lady getting stunned. If you have a free minute, I would love for you to check out our original concept. Im not asking for a review, or even to know if you viewed it. we (like everyone else) spent much of october planning and getting ready (and watching for a stupid cloudy day) for shooting our entry. We were proud of the result and when you posted your poptent invite we were thrilled to find out what you thought. I didnt want to waste your time with all six of our entries, so I picked the one that had gotten the most laughs.
Any ways, as I said before if you have time great. If not, I thank you for being upfront in your original review, and will most definitely be submitting our entry next year to you again.
/#/gallery?video=13336
Thanks again,
Keith D. Jones
Keith,
I did see several versions of Taze the Flavor while I was going through the contest gallery. I know you wouldn’t have left your comment if you didn’t want some serious feedback so I won’t sugar coat this; I just didn’t care for any of the versions of your video. (Though the one you just linked to is much better than the one where the lady is basically having a stroke) And I don’t want to think the stroke-version is making me biased. I actually saw the video you just linked to first.
In my humble opinion there are a few big problems with the ad. The most important one is that the story isn’t funny. It just isn’t. Yeah your friends laugh but if any versions of your ad aired during the super bowl it would not do well on the ad meter. (and the ad meter is the whole point of this contest.) In your commercial, an old lady cattle prods a construction worker….and that’s it. There’s no twist or anything. She just zaps him (or gets zapped) and that’s the punchline. In Doritos commercials, the “bad guy” always needs to get punished some how. And there are ALWAYS multiple “jokes.”
Another problem here is the casting. I did not like the woman you cast at all. She was not a “sweet old lady” type. She looked mean. This would have been funnier if you cast a Betty White type. (sorry if the old woman is your grandma…I’m sure she’s not mean in real life)
My final issue is that it feels like you just simply copied this Crash the Super Bowl finalist ad from 2010:
That entry is funny because the bad guy gets punished at there are multiple jokes. There are like 5 different “laughs” in that video. But I digress…the important thing here is that Doritos has already picked a finalist ad about an senior citizen who tazes a young person. So they probably won’t do it again.
Here is my entry, enjoy!
/#/gallery?video=12771