PLANO, Texas, Feb. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- One lucky fan's life changed in the most incredible way today when PepsiCo's Doritos brand awarded Scott Zabielski of Los Angeles the grand prize in this year's "Crash the Super Bowl" contest – $1 million and a dream job at Universal Pictures in Hollywood. Zabielski created the best homemade Doritos ad in the ninth edition of the award-winning consumer-created ad contest, racking up the highest number of total fan votes on doritos.com. Graham Talbot who created "When Pigs Fly" was named runner-up by the Doritos brand, netting Talbot $50,000 in prize money. Both ads aired in front of a global audience during Sunday's Super Bowl XLIX broadcast, one of the most-watched television events in the world. To view the ads and see the official contest rules, visit www.doritos.com.
'"Middle Seat' is creative, bold and original, representing everything the Doritos brand and our 'Crash the Super Bowl' contest is about," said Ram Krishnan, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Frito-Lay North America. "Rising to the top among nearly 4,900 competitors from all over the world is no easy feat. If the success of our past winners is any indication, Scott's career is about to take off in the most amazing way, and we can't wait to see what happens next."
Zabielski, a Los Angeles-based director and producer turned his "Middle Seat" commercial into reality in a little over a week with the help of family and friends, and a cameo from his young son who played the baby in the spot. The ad, created for $2,000 US, is based on the premise that everyone knows having an empty middle seat next to you on a plane is like winning the lottery – and you're probably willing to go above and beyond to keep it empty. That is until the perfect seat companion comes by.
This ninth consecutive year of the Doritos "Crash the Super Bowl" contest once again invited consumers to create and submit 30-second homemade ads celebrating their love of Doritos tortilla chips. For just the second time in contest history, fans from around the world were invited to participate in the competition, resulting in nearly 4,900 submissions from 29 countries around the world and a record four international finalists. In early January, 10 finalist ads were selected by a qualified panel of judges, including executives from the Doritos brand, advertising professionals, and actress/producer Elizabeth Banks — who is making her directorial debut on "Pitch Perfect 2" and has starred in critically acclaimed films such as "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," "Seabiscuit," and "Pitch Perfect," as well as global franchises like "The Lego Movie," "The Hunger Games," and "Spider-Man."
Each of the 10 Crash the Super Bowl finalists won an invitation to Arizona to attend Super Bowl XLIX and watch the game from a private suite, where they tuned in to learn which two finalist ads aired – one was chosen by fan votes; the other by the Doritos team. The eight finalists whose commercials didn't air during the broadcast each won $25,000.
PepsiCo's relationship with the NFL is among the company's longest-running and most-successful sports sponsorships. PepsiCo will leverage its relationship with the NFL to connect with consumers throughout the season with activations spanning many of the company's largest food and beverage brands, including Pepsi, Tostitos, Quaker, Doritos and Gatorade.
About Doritos
Doritos is one of the leading brands from PepsiCo's (NYSE: PEP) global snack portfolio. To learn more about the Doritos brand, visit its website at www.doritos.com.
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $66 billion in net revenue in 2013, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.
At the heart of PepsiCo is Performance with Purpose – our goal to deliver top-tier financial performance while creating sustainable growth in shareholder value. In practice, Performance with Purpose means providing a wide range of foods and beverages from treats to healthy eats; finding innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment and reduce our operating costs; providing a safe and inclusive workplace for our employees globally; and respecting, supporting and investing in the local communities where we operate. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.
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About Universal Pictures
Universal Studios Universal Pictures is a division of Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com). Universal Studios is part of NBCUniversal. NBCUniversal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group and world-renowned theme parks. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.
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SOURCE Frito-Lay North America