UPDATE:  I wrote this post last night a few hours before this year’s Crash the Super Bowl was officially announced.  I used a USA Today article and the official rules of the 2012 CTSB contest as my source.  But today I got an e-mail from a rep from Fritolay that explained that some very important prizes had been left out of the rules.  Most notably, all 5 finalists will be getting a free trip to the Super Bowl and there will be prizes if a winning ad scores the number 2 or number 3 spot on the USA Today ad meter!  That’s awesome news.  Based on the official rules, it looked like Doritos totally gutted the contest this year.  This post has been updated to include the new details….

The Crash the Super Bowl contest is back and this year, it’s smaller than ever!! Wait….what?  Smaller?  Yep, I’m sorry to say that for the first time ever, Doritos has actually scaled back on the size of their annual commercial contest.  The big surprise is that Pepsi Max will NOT be a part of the contest this year.  So if you want to compete, your only option is to shoot a Doritos commercial.  Here are some more important points about this year’s contest:

1.  Judges will pick 5 finalists.  Last year there were ten; 5 for Doritos and 5 for Pepsi Max.

2.  Each finalist will receive $25,000 and a trip to the Super Bowl.  Same as last year.

3.  Only ONE finalist commercial is guaranteed to air during the Super Bowl.  Last year SIX ads aired.  (three from each brand)

4.  The finalist video that will air during the game will be determined by a PUBLIC VOTE.

5.  If the winning ad scores the number one spot on the USA Today Ad Meter, the filmmaker will win a Million Dollar Bonus.

6.  If the winning ad scores the second spot on the ad meter the filmmaker will win $600,000.  The number three spot gets you $400,000.  Again, same as last year.

7.  There will NOT be a bonus if three Doritos ads take all three spots on the ad meter….presumably because only 2 Doritos ads are guaranteed to air.  One spot will be made by professionals but I bet they’ll wind up airing at least 2 consumer-made commercials.

8.  If the winning ad scores below 15th place on the ad meter, the head of marketing for Frito-lay gets to punch the filmmaker in the junk.

Ok, that last one was obviously fake.  But this new mini-CTSB contest does kind of feel like a punch in the junk, doesn’t it?  To go from airing SIX consumer-generated ads in 2011 to airing just ONE in 2012 is a real let down.  So why is Dortios running a smaller version of what has always been an incredibly popular and successful promotion?  I can answer that question in just three words:  THE LONELY ISLAND.  The comedy/music/internet sensation is going to be a part of this year’s Crash the Super Bowl contest.  In fact, their participation is what makes this the “Hollywood Edition” of the Crash.  The Lonely Island guys (Andy Sandburg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer) will also be producing a Doritos commercial and it will also air during the 2012 Super Bowl.  But here’s where it gets weird;  the Lonely Island guys are kind of IN the Crash the Super Bowl contest.  By that I mean that they will be competing for the 1st place spot on the ad meter and if they get it, they will win the million dollar bonus!  But they don’t get to keep it.  If they win the million bucks they’re donating it to charity.  But Doritos is apparently going to play up the “little guy vs. Hollywood” angle here.  If you ask me, it’s not even a remotely fair fight though.  If the folks in the ad meter poll know that the Lonely Island team would donate their million dollar bonus to charity that will give them a huge advantage.

There is a little bit of good news though.  The winner of the Crash the Super Bowl contest will be given the chance to “apprentice” with the Lonely Island team and shoot a new Doritos commercial with them in 2012.  If the winner chooses to accept the apprenticeship (who wouldn’t) they would get a bonus of $25,000.  So that would be pretty sweet, I guess.

So anyway….yeah.  That’s why we’re getting a mini-Crash in 2012.  I love Lonely Island and their involvement is the only thing that could motivate me to enter this year’s Crash.  But still, the details of this new mini-CTSB contest are kind of a bummer.  Last year Doritos alone got about 5,000 entries for this contest.  So without Pepsi Max in the mix, Doritos will probably get 7,000 submissions this time.  And even if you make the finals, you still have to win a public vote!  The odds here are just unfathomably bad.

So personally, I think I might just have to watch this one play out from the sidelines.  That should still be pretty entertaining though.  Or maybe I’ll enter just for the fun of it.  I don’t know.  Either way, for the next four months we’re going to be giving the contest a lot of coverage so be sure to check in from time to time to see how things are going.  And if you shoot an entry, be sure to let us know.  The 2011/2012 Hollywood Edition of the Crash the Super Bowl contest officially starts excepting entries on October 3rd.  The deadline to submit is November, 21st.  (much later than last year.)  If you’re planning on entering, all I can say to you is this:  GOOD LUCK!