PLANO, Texas, Oct. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- With $5 million on the table for the top three spots in USA Today's annual Super Bowl Ad Meter, Doritos tortilla chips - the bold, intense snack brand within PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division - today announced a last call for entries in this year's Doritos "Crash the Super Bowl" challenge. Fans have only two remaining weeks to get in on the action and submit homemade ads that share their love for Doritos, before submissions officially close on November 9, 2009. The brand will air three consumer-created :30 Doritos spots during the Super Bowl XLIV broadcast and give the winners a total of $5 million if the homemade ads claim the top three spots of the USA TODAY Ad Meter.

Since the program launched on September 10, 2009, the Doritos brand has received numerous creative entries from its fans. With only two weeks left, consumers are encouraged to upload :30 commercials to www.crashthesuperbowl.com, to be considered for one of the coveted spots that can change the lives of Doritos fans. To help entrants amp up their creative masterpieces, the site also houses a toolbox where Doritos logos, product shots, pre-licensed music and animations are available for download and use. In addition, a series of fun tutorial videos featuring Joe and Dave Herbert, last year's $1 million winners who are serving as "mentors" to contestants, are also featured on the contest's website.

"Since the kick off of this year's contest, we've seen scores of ads submitted by Doritos fans that truly embody the big, bold and intense spirit of our brand," said Rudy Wilson, director of marketing, Doritos. "We encourage all those who have a passion to compete at the highest level to submit a homemade commercial for the chance to take the top spot."

During the Super Bowl XLIII broadcast in February 2009, a homemade Doritos commercial entitled "Free Doritos," made by Joe and Dave Herbert of Batesville, Ind. for less than $2,000, snagged the number-one spot on the USA TODAY Ad Meter, beating the seasoned ad pros that traditionally dominate the rankings. This marked the first time ever an amateur ad achieved such an accomplishment and was the first top-ranking ad for the Doritos brand.

Six finalists' ads will be announced in January 2010. Then it will be up to fans to vote for their favorite ads online and determine the three winning Doritos spots to air during the Super Bowl XLIV broadcast on February 7, 2010 on CBS. Each of the six finalists will win $25,000 and a trip to South Florida to attend Super Bowl XLIV in a private luxury suite at the game, where they will tune in to learn for the first time which ads won when they air for a worldwide audience. Details about the advertising challenge are available at www.crashthesuperbowl.com and fans can follow the action on Twitter by following @DoritosUSA.

The USA TODAY Super Bowl Ad Meter tracks the second-by-second responses of a panel of viewers to ads during the national broadcast of the Super Bowl and ranks them favorite to least favorite. Created in 1989, USA TODAY's Ad Meter has been regarded as the most influential Super Bowl ad rating in the advertising industry.

Crash the Super Bowl is one of many ways the Doritos brand continues to turn control over to consumers. The brand's commitment to fan-empowerment began with the Doritos "Crash the Super Bowl" program, which started in 2007 and has turned the brand's Super Bowl advertising over to its fans every year. In addition, the brand has put consumers in control through a variety of other exciting opportunities, including the Doritos "X-13D Flavor Experiment," where consumers had a chance to name a new mysterious flavor of chips; "THE QUEST," which engaged fans in a multi-faceted online and real-world adventure of challenges; and "Doritos Late Night," which provided Doritos fans ground-breaking virtual musical performances by blink-182 and Big Boi through the power of augmented reality technology where fans could enjoy and control the performances in the palm of their hand.

Frito-Lay North America is the $12 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. In addition to Frito-Lay, PepsiCo business units include Pepsi-Cola, Quaker Foods, Gatorade and Tropicana. Learn more about Frito-Lay at the corporate Web site, www.fritolay.com, the Snack Chat blog, http://www.snacks.com/ and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/fritolay.

PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 18 different product lines that each generate more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. Our main businesses - Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade - also make hundreds of other nourishing, tasty foods and drinks that bring joy to our consumers in over 200 countries. With more than $43 billion in 2008 revenues, PepsiCo employs 198,000 people who are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth, called Performance with Purpose. By dedicating ourselves to offering a broad array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing our environmental impact, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to our communities worldwide. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

    Contact:
    Chris Kuechenmeister
    Frito-Lay
    972-334-2044
    Chris.Kuechenmeister@fritolay.com

SOURCE: Frito-Lay North America

Web site: http://www.fritolay.com/