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 by Beardy. Follow us on Twitter @ ----
Posted in 
Tags: 
READ BEFORE LEAVING A COMMENT:
We always get a lot of new readers during the CTSB contest so I wanted to explain the rules for commenting.
1. Comments by new users must be approved before they go live. I do all the approving myself so it might take a while for you comments to appear. Once your comment has been approved your future comments appear automatically.
2. Do NOT post your CTSB entry link as your “website” when you fill out the comment form. In fact, I recommend that you leave that space blank. Posting unusual links in the “website” box can get your comment flagged as spam.
3. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not. For example, please don’t post your own entry a bunch of times under different names and say it’s awesome.
4. If you would like some feedback on your spot from me or from anyone else, please say so.
5. Try not to be a jerk.
Thanks!
This is our submission for the Crash The Superbowl contest. Shot on Canon 60D 50mm 1.8, 55-250mm. Home made glider made out of Ikea handles, tripod, lowell rifalight and gorilla pod. Edited and graded in Avid Media Composer. No budget except for $4.28 bag of dorritos. Spent alot of money last year on our zombie entry but learned that zombies are way overused but was fun shooting it. The kids were very easy to work with and our dog acted like a pro. The dog food lable i created in photoshop.-Thank You for viewing the video.
/#/gallery/?video=13913
Trying again this year! My entry is called “More of These.” Thanks for checking it out.
/#/gallery/?video=13275
Beardy-
Take a look at my teams submission this year. Would love to hear your comments.
“I’M ON IT”
/#/gallery/?video=13389
Here’s mine! Entitled “What Men Want”:
http://crashthesuperbowl.com/#/gallery?video=13491
Thx for looking.
Due to problems uploading, our entry still isn’t up but I’ve been working with the moderator and they assure me it is officially made it in in time (via yousendit) that it will be posted and considered on time at which point I will attach the link. Fair warning, it may blow your mind hole open.
RJ,
That’s a nice spot. Looks very professional and it’s fun. I think for this contest though you could have gone a little edgier. Doritos’ judges seem to like hardcore slapstick. The “violence” in your ad was pretty much G rated. Plus I think the girl’s anger would seem more appropriate if the guy had totally crushed the bag of doritos. The way it is now he just crushed a few chips. But then the girl attacks him with the bag and the chips fly everywhere. So she ruined way more chips than the guy did. But all in all I like this spot.
Well, my production doesn’t come close to some of the ones you’ve already submitted. This is my first shot at a contest entry and I’d love to hear your comments. I’m far from a professional, but had fun anyway. Anything you have to comment or critique would be great. Thanks!
“The Bully”
/#/gallery/?video=14825
Any comments are welcome, I do this stuff to learn and have some fun.
PS: “More of These” and “I’m on it” are fantastic. If “more of these” was just a little tighter (in my unprofessional opinion), it would be in the top 5 that I’ve seen. Probably still top 5 anyway, but great production, too! Nice Work amyboo, you may have yourself a winner.
Hi we’d love to hear your thoughts on our entry!
/#/gallery/?video=12708
Hope you enjoy it.
Thanks for taking the time…… As you said theres a lot of them.
Thanks for taking the time to critique, Beardy! Would love to know your thoughts on my submission, Scan Proof:
/#/gallery/?video=14770
Here’s mine “Call Of Doritos”
/#/gallery/?video=10328
thanks
Thanks for taking a look.
Hi,
Here is my CTSB contest entry. Thanks for watching.
-Marc
/#/gallery/?video=15977
Here is my spot! all feedback is welcome
/#/gallery/?video=15869
Hey Beardy!
I was an actor in last year’s “controversial” PepsiMax finalist and this year decided to team up with my creative partner (the lead in this one) and produce a spot. Look forward to hearing from you.
Hungry Birds
/#/gallery/?video=12231
PS – Thanks again for picking ours last year as a Beardy Finalist!
Nice entries everyone! Beardy, were you able to get the shooting done on your spot? Would love to see it if you did. Here’s mine, Jurassic Karma:
/#/gallery/?video=12411
Good luck everyone!
I created two spots this year. I’d love to here what you think.
/#/gallery/?video=12875
and
/#/gallery/?video=12801
Thanks!
Throwing ours into the pot…
/#/gallery/?video=16178
Thanks for taking the time to do this, Beardy. Cool site!
Hi Beardy,
Here’s our submission for this year’s competition!
Let me know what you think!
/#/gallery/?video=12170
Thanks!
Hey Beardy,
I really enjoy your site, thanks for keeping the info flowing. Would definitely like to hear what you think:
Version 1:
/#/gallery?video=15848
Version 2:
/#/gallery?video=15870
Enjoy!
Best,
Jonah
Here is our entry, we’d love to hear your feedback! You named our Pepsi Max entry “Hiccups” as one of your contenders last year (which was very flattering)
Anyways… here is our entry…
/#/gallery?video=14583
I play “the Director” and I edited the piece. Can’t wait to see your list of favorites this year!
Holy crap, that’s a lot of videos! Ok, so I’m going to do a mega-comment that includes critiques for a bunch of different spots. If I didn’t get to yours in this comment I’ll come back and do another mega-comment later today. Here we go:
BrianGill,
The Bully: This was a well directed spot and the blonde kid was pretty funny. I don’t think it’s tight enough for this contest but I could see this ad winning a prize in a regular video contest. So I think you are definitely on the right track. I would recommend you reshoot it for a different competition. I would suggest shooting during the day since it seems odd that the kids are in a dark school. Also the actors could be louder and more animated. Finally, I’d consider showing the explosion at the end. It could even just be like whipped cream shooting out in the bully’s face. For the CTSB contest, the judges like to see the violence.
Lemonstring,
The Hunt: Man, that’s pretty good. And it has the feel of a CTSB finalist. I think it will make the judge’s short list and I’ll add it to my list of favorites. I think there’s a small chance the content of your ad might hurt you though. It looks like you used real, taxidermied squirrels. Some people might find that offensive. Also, I think the ad could have used a little more slapstick and a little less build up. But over all, it’s very good.
Tom Woodruff,
Scan Proof: This is a very neat idea and it’s well executed. But I’m not sure it works as a 30 second TV commercial. It feels like there’s too much exposition….but also, there’s not enough. A lot of time is spent explaining the set up but it still wasn’t enough. “DVRs” weren’t even mentioned. But there is so much dialogue that it feels like the actors are talking as fast as they can. I think the actors could have said a lot more in fewer words…but it’s really, really hard to write ultra-precise dialogue. One other thing; Dortios doesn’t seem to like ads that feature scantily clad hot women. I suspect that ads like that actually get a lot of negative scores from female viewers in the ad meter polls. But all my comments aside, it’s a good spot and I’ll add it to my “best of” list.
JB,
Call of Doritos: This ad made me chuckle but right away I see a problem. There is a beer bottle sitting on the coffee table. Alcoholic beverages aren’t allowed in the entries. Also, I think “dude, you’re licking my stick!” is just waaaay to risqué for the Super Bowl.
Mark,
Going Orange: I personally like weird spots like this one and this one is certainly weird. But it might be a little too strange for the general public. It also has a high gross-out factor. First, the guy on the couch looks like a slob. The problem is that HE is the guy eating Doritos. So I don’t think Doritos wants to portray their customers as slobs. Also, he is dipping Doritos in a jar of salsa. Doritos aren’t meant to be dipped. The sight of a man sucking Doritos off a dirty floor is kind of yucky too. And the shot of one man’s vacuum powered mouth lunching for another man’s crotch is probably too suggestive for the super bowl. But personally, I thought this was funny.
Ryan,
Oh Man Oh Man Oh Man: This a very nice-looking, professional and funny ad. It does have a few issues though. First, as a guy who’s watched thousands of CTSB entries over the years I can tell you that every year, Doritos gets a lot of delivery room scenes. And it feels like I’ve evem seen this type of scenario before. But I think the big problem is that the ad might be too graphic for the family-friendly super bowl. The Super Bowl is pretty much PG these days and this ad is PG-13. You basically are showing how a baby is born. A lot of small kids watch the super bowl with the family. So if this ad aired, you would blow the minds of a lot of 6 year olds who don’t get where babies come from. Doritos would get a lot of complaints from conservative viewers. I think the shot of the woman’s legs in the stirrups is especially over-the-line for a family broadcast.
JK,
First, which entry was yours last year?
Hungry Birds: This is a really nice ad. Well planned and executed. The bad news is that for some weird reason I have seen a lot of ads like this so far this year. Someone even left a comment asking me to review their ad (it’s called The Hunt) that was about a guy on a park bench throwing chips to squirrel. And I’ve seen a bunch of ads about people feeding Doritos to birds. What’s strange is that last year, I don’t remember any ads like this at all. But anyways, this is one of the best bird ones. I think it could have used a little less set up and a big punchline. But I like this spot and I’ll add it to my list of favorites.
Nearly everything in this spot was 3D CGI or required heavy post with After Effects: /#/gallery/?video=14814 Hopefully it will give somebody a laugh. Also, feel free to take a gander at /#/gallery/?video=14785 Some people really like the ending, some really hate it…
First, thanks for your feedback Beardy. I know how much time it takes to watch and critique creative work objectively. You’re d@mn good at it.
Yeah our team was REAL surprised to see the # of bird related ads this year. Angry Birds is on peoples minds sooo that might have had something to do with it.
I was in PepsiMax “Love Hurts” last year that was the #4 Super Bowl ad.
Happy Thanksgiving
JK
Here is my entry entitled “Whipped”.
/#/gallery/?video=13395
Here’s our submission. Used a Canon T3i, 24-105 L Series Lens. Audio – Zoom H4N. Used a glide. Fun little shoot. Simple yet fun. Good ending in ours we think. =)
/#/gallery?video=11475
here’s our submissions, hope you like em:
Todd: /#/gallery?video=16481
Rise & Shine: /#/gallery?video=16770
Todd: /#/gallery?video=16481
Rise&Shine: /#/gallery?video=16770
alt ending to Todd: /#/gallery?video=17592
Here’s our video. Due to circumstances the morning of the shoot, we had to completely rewrite our idea to fit the weather/amount of people to be in it/etc, and considering it was literally a last minute idea/shoot, I think it turned out pretty well.
“The Jogger”
/#/gallery/?video=14881
Thanks for checking it out!
Here’s my Doritos entry this year. Thanks for looking at it! I’d love to hear your feedback.
/#/gallery/?video=12719
Lucas,
Jurassic Karma: There’s not much to say. This is really good and I’ll add it to my list of favorites. I think the only obstacle you might face is that Dortios might not want something that’s got so much CG. Also, I think the Doritos could have used a little more screen time. But still, it’s funny and it will really stand out from the crowd.
Mark Quod,
Hey, Why is My Face Wet: First, this ad looks really great. Very nice cinematography. Plus the kids and the dog are great too. But the ad feels like it was missing something. I don’t know…there was a good set up and then it just kind of ended. It need a big joke. All the ingredients were there though. One thing to keep in mind: Unless you designed the Dad’s T-Shirt yourself, you could have a copyright problem. Someone, somewhere owns the rights to the artwork on that shirt.
Stupid Hamster: I’ll be blunt; I didn’t like this ad. It seemed cruel. I know that a hamster would run in a wheel like that whether or not you held Doritos up to the glass but it seems cruel to laugh when he gets tangled up. Also the spot is lacking a punch line.
Matt Gahan,
Grandpa’s Driver: This one is pretty good and it’s very well made. I really like the reason the dog was driving. The Grandpa didn’t want to get dortios cheese on the steering wheel. That was a nice way to make the ad ABOUT Doritos. You’ll get a lot of points for the cuteness of the dog but I think a stronger punchline would have made this spot even better.
Jobber,
The Pocket Dial: This entry is pretty damn funny….but there’s no way in hell Doritos would pick it. It’s just way too risqué! The whole premise is that a woman thinks her boyfriend is having sex with a man. And the final shot looks like…well, you know. It’s funny and well made but if Doritos actually submitted this to air during the super bowl it would get rejected. (just like godaddy’s ads are “rejected” every year) So this is too suggestive for family viewing. Great job on it though!
Jonah,
Gibberish: This is a very neat idea and the ad looks great. I feel like it was missing a payoff though. I like the version where the guy smiles once he can understand everyone. I was hoping something big was about to happen but you just kind of left me hanging. A funny explanation why the chips made the guy understand would have been cool.
Glenn,
Cut!: Man, this one is gooood. I think Doritos will love all the shots of the guy happily chomping on the chips. It really made me want to eat a dorito! But I think the end might be a little soft. That kind of tackle is appears in a lot of CTSB entries and even in actual TV commercials. So that punchline might be a little over done. Heh…it would have been funny if the director smacked the guy with the boom pole. Still, this is going on my list of favorites.
More reviews to come….
Hi,
Here’s our entry. Would appreciate any feedback. Thanks!
/#/gallery?video=12461
Thanks for your comments on the “The Pocket Dial” Beardy!
I guess there’s a fine line on how edgy one can be. We thought the spot was risqué, but just enough to sneak by.
You’re providing a great service by providing your expertise.
Thanks again!
Jeff,
Salvation: This is a very impressive ad. However, I don’t think it’s right for the CTSB contest. It’s not really shocking or crazy or funny. It needed some kind of big twist ending. However, I suggest that you re-work this ad and submit it to a different video contest! You can make this ad about any food product you want with just a simple re-shoot! Check out onlinevideocontests.com to find tons of new contests. If you do a re-shoot I’d really like to see it. But you may want to wait until after the CTSB finalists are announced before you try and do a re-do. You don’t want to get disqualified.
Failure to communicate: I liked this one. Both roles were well cast but I especially liked the girl. She was very cute and I think it was smart not to go with a cliché “bimbo” type. I think the Doritos needed a lot more screen time though. Plus it’s probably a little, tiny bit “too hot” for the super bowl.
Jason,
Whipped: Hmmm, I’m not crazy about this concept. Seems kind of in bad taste. Plus it has kind of a misogynistic tint too it. And the “whipped” jokes are kind of offensive. I think that this ad might have worked like 10 years ago but times have changed.
Canotefilms,
Sharing is caring: Right off the bat I’m reminded of an ad that made the Crash the Super Bowl finals two years ago. I think it was called “The Smackout” and it was about two guys slapping each other. So that might be a problem. Plus the bloodied faces might be TOO realistic. And is the “mom” the same age as the two “boys?” But all that aside, I did kind of like it. It’s simple but funny and shows two guys who really love Doritos.
Brian Matthews,
Todd: This one is cute but it doesn’t really feel like a Super Bowl commercial. It’s probably TOO cute. I don’t think it’d edgy or shocking enough. I do kind of like it though. This is another example of an ad that would probably do well in another video contest though.
Rise and Shine: Now this one I like. It’s a cool concept. I really like the idea of having different, random things come out of the Doritos bag. And good call with the blue glitter. My only criticism is that the ending was too happy. It was a perfect set up for a crazy twist. Like maybe the whole thing could have been a doritos’ nightmare!
Bryant,
The Jogger:
For a last minute idea it was pretty good. It must have been tough to make all that happen the day of the shoot. It is a little um, weird though. I don’t get why the guy would wear Doritos shorts and I’m guessing that’s because there’s no reason. A great ad can be weird and random but there has to be a reason for the weirdness.
Jared Anderson,
Maybe Next Year: Well now, I think this is the first ad I’ve seen (out of 1500) that has finalist potential. It looks great and it’s funny and it has a hilarious baby in it. I think if the ending had been a little crazier it would have put it over the top. Right now the end is funny but it might be too subtle for the super bowl. Plus the parents were such jerks I think it might leave people wanting that baby to get some revenge.
Jedd,
Bird of Prey: I’m not going to mince words: I had a very strong negative reaction to this ad. I actually came across it a few days ago while watching some of the early submissions. So I’ve had some time to think about why this spot bothers me. First, there is a disconnect between the technical quality of the ad and the quality of the script. It was clearly made by professionals (or aspiring professionals) and I think this is easily the best production I have seen this year. But the concept is kind of too easy. I’ve seen a crazy number of entries this year that are about feeding birds or people acting like birds. The only thing that makes this ad stand out from all those other ads is the production values. It feels like instead of worrying about doing something clever, the director just relied on the actor to act super crazy and take a few hard falls.
But there’s another reason this spot bothers me. I like birds! Yeah, I know….that’s a weird reason. But my mom has always been a bird watcher so when I was a kid she taught me all about birds. We always had feeders in our yard and it was always a sad event when we would find a dead bird that hit the window. Wow…as I type that I realize why I have such strong, negative feelings about this spot. It makes me sad because it reminds me of finding hurt birds when I was a kid. Whoa. Anyways, there are a lot of bird lovers out there and I think jokes about birds getting hurt will turn a lot of viewers off.
Sorry to be such a-hole. Despite everything I said, I think the high-quality production values make this spot a major contender.
Here’s my spot. The entire production (preproduction, shooting, post production, and editing) was made In 10 hours on the 21st. We had made a different one earlier but we decided to reshoot it with some changes to sell the story more. Hope you enjoy.
/#/gallery?video=16516
Hi Beardy!
Would you give us your feedback on our Doritos commercial?
/#/gallery/?video=16297
Thanks!
Jason and the Chicks from BoomChickBoom
I just wanted to let you know that beer is allowed just not Hard Liquor (spirits).
Bear!!! Wow! You actually responded to my video! How cool is that!? So funny you mentioned “that the mom doesnt look old enough.” I shot a 2nd version with our actual mother lol. Actually 2 versions just for kicks, and made my mom feel really good. haha. =)
Man! Thanks so much for your response!
/#/gallery?video=17056
/#/gallery?video=17103
Hi Beardy!
I just realized that, in trying to keep my comment short and sweet, I neglected to ask for your feedback. I would love to hear, um, read what you think about my entry called “More of These.” Thanks so much!
/#/gallery/?video=13275
P.S. Thanks Brian for all your kind comments…TRULY APPRECIATED:)
*Beardy! not Bear! lol. Sorry.
Hi,
Wanted to share my entry too and see what you thought.
Look forward to hearing your comments.
Thanks so much!
/#/gallery/?video=16729
Hello again, Beardy! THANK YOU for taking the time to peruse my spots and offering your opinions. Your comments are invaluable and I will certainly consider them as I create new content and enter other contests in the future. If I redo the island spot for another contest, I’ll certainly let you know. Have a good one, man!
Hi there – would love to get your feedback…thanks!
/#/gallery?video=15508
Hi Beardy. Here is our entry to Crash the Super Bowl. It’s called “Babydoll”. We’d love to hear what you think. Thank you for watching in advance. /#/gallery/?video=13550
Hey Beardy, great post. You sound like you’ve got a pretty good grasp of the scope of this contest. Keep it up!
Here’s my entry for the contest…it involves a song
/#/gallery/?video=13667
Here are our two spots our team submitted for the contest. Look forward to any and all input. Enjoy!
Doritos “Anniversary”
A man and his dog take a shot at cooking a surprise dinner.
/#/gallery?video=15687
Doritos “Pinata”
Kids, parents, a piñata, and mayhem!
/#/gallery?video=15009
Here’s ours – Road Pirates:
/#/gallery?video=13738
This was my spot “HAPPY ENDING” –
/#/gallery?video=13061
I would like feedback if anyone wouldn’t mind…
Thanks
Here is my spot I wrote produced and starred in… I would love to hear what you think!
/#/gallery?video=12896