Doritos Unveils Boldest Crash The Super Bowl Ever With Grand Prize To Work With Michael Bay On Paramount Pictures And Hasbro's 'Transformers 4'

September 20, 2012

PLANO, Texas, Sept. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In one of the most highly anticipated Super Bowl announcements of the year, Doritos — one of the marquee brands from PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division — today revealed the details for this year's Crash the Super Bowl contest. Following six previous contests, $5 million in prize money awarded and three No. 1 USA TODAY Ad Meter rankings, the Doritos brand is doing the unthinkable for the seventh anniversary of the program — raising the stakes higher than ever before. In a message direct to fans via webcast yesterday evening, acclaimed Hollywood film director Michael Bay and the Doritos brand announced the biggest, boldest contest grand prize to date: an opportunity to work with Bay on the next installment of the "Transformers" movie franchise, along with a shot at a $1 million bonus. From Paramount Pictures and Hasbro, the next installment in the hit series will be released on June 27, 2014. The webcast is now archived on the Doritos Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/DoritosUSA) — the main hub of this year's contest.

As one of Hollywood's boldest and most bankable feature film directors, Bay's repertoire includes such blockbuster hits as the "Transformers" franchise, "Armageddon," "Pearl Harbor," "Bad Boys" and "The Rock." Bay's films combined have grossed $5.4 billion in worldwide ticket sales, and his most recent hit, "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," ranks as the fifth-highest grossing movie of all time, earning $1.2 billion at the box office. Bay began his career as a creative force in the advertising world, winning many of the industry's top accolades, including being honored as "Commercial Director of the Year" by the Directors Guild of America at the young age of 27.

"Having started my career in the advertising business, creating television spots and trying to make a name for myself, I can definitely relate to those who enter the Crash the Super Bowl contest," said Bay, who began directing commercials and music videos one week out of film school in 1989. "I know firsthand how challenging it can be to succeed in such a competitive industry, so I'm excited to help someone else truly make a name of their own."

As in previous years, the Crash the Super Bowl contest invites consumers to create homemade ads for the Doritos brand, with two finalist consumer-created spots ultimately airing during the Super Bowl broadcast. One of those ads will be selected by America's votes; the other by the Doritos brand team. The finalist whose ad scores highest on the USA TODAY Ad Meter rankings will be awarded the grand prize-career opportunity working with Bay. In addition, if a consumer-generated Doritos ad scores No. 1 on the USA TODAY Ad Meter, the Doritos brand will award its creator a $1 million bonus. The Super Bowl XLVII broadcast is set for Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013, on CBS.

"Over the past six years, our fans have created thousands of Doritos ads, dominating the USA TODAY Ad Meter year after year and making Doritos the brand to watch on Super Bowl Sunday," said Ram Krishnan, vice president of marketing, Frito-Lay North America. "Every year, our fans deliver for us, so this year we're bringing them a contest grand prize that we know will be a true game changer. The opportunity to work on a blockbuster film like 'Transformers 4' is an experience we know will help catapult our lucky winner to the big time."

For the first time in Crash the Super Bowl history, the contest will be run from a Crash the Super Bowl-branded app on the Doritos Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/DoritosUSA). There, participants can upload their :30 homemade commercials from Oct. 8, 2012 to Nov. 16, 2012, but the app is designed to engage and socialize with consumers in a much broader way than ever before. New to this year's contest, the app will feature a "Pitch In" collaboration tool that allows fans from all walks of life to interact with each other and assist with the creation of Crash the Super Bowl entries by requesting or offering up props, talent and other items contestants need to create their potentially winning ads. Now, anyone from any background can play a role in the creation of the next great Doritos masterpiece. The app will also house the traditional toolbox where Doritos logos, product shots, music and animations are available for download and use, as well as the gallery of all contest submissions where fans can view submissions and weigh in on their personal favorites.

Five finalist ads will be announced in January 2013. Then it will be up to fans to vote for their favorite consumer-created ad. Each of the five finalists will win $25,000 and a trip to New Orleans to attend Super Bowl XLVII in a private luxury suite at the game, where they will tune in to learn for the first time which consumer ads will compete for the top spot in the USA TODAY Ad Meter before a worldwide audience. Bonus prizing will be awarded, based on how each ad ranks on the USA TODAY Ad Meter:

$1 million will be awarded for an ad that scores the No. 1 spot on the USA TODAY Ad Meter
$600,000 will be awarded for an ad that scores the No. 2 two spot on the USA TODAY Ad Meter
$400,000 will be awarded for an ad that scores the No. 3 spot on the USA TODAY Ad Meter

Created in 1989, USA TODAY's Ad Meter has been regarded as the most influential Super Bowl ad rating in the advertising industry. USA TODAY Ad Meter does not sponsor and is not affiliated with the contest.

The Doritos brand originally introduced Crash the Super Bowl in 2007, and aired its first consumer-created commercial during Super Bowl XLIV. Over the last six years, consumer-created Doritos ads have consistently ranked within the top-five spots of the USA TODAY Ad Meter, and three of the last four years they have scored the No. 1 ranking. As a result, the creators of these top-ranked winning ads have been awarded millions of dollars in grand prize money. Contest finalists have also gone on to receive commercial work, Hollywood representation and other once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. To date, the brand has received more than 19,000 consumer-generated ad submissions, further demonstrating the popularity of the award-winning program.

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. Examples include:

Pepsi will sponsor the Super Bowl XLVII Halftime Show in New Orleans on February 3, 2013, bringing Pepsi's signature style of consumer engagement to pop culture's biggest stage.
Pepsi and the NFL recently launched the Pepsi NFL Anthems program, a national campaign that will feature some of today's most talented musical artists, iconic NFL teams, and exciting players.
Quaker Oats is teaming up with the NFL and quarterback Andrew Luck on the NFL PLAY 60 Super Bowl Contest presented by Quaker, a program that will find inspiring kids who make eating right and physical fitness a priority and can motivate their peers to do the same.
Gatorade and its Gatorade Sports Science Institute are working closely with 11 NFL rookies this year to help guide their nutrition plans and help improve performance. Each rookie's story is being documented in a web series called "Everything to Prove" on NFL.com.
Frito-Lay and Pepsi are joining forces for the "Make Your Game Day Official" promotion, which will give consumers who purchase Frito-Lay and Pepsi foods and beverages together a chance to win official NFL prizes.

About Doritos
Doritos tortilla chips is one of the billion-dollar brands that make up Frito-Lay North America, the $13 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. To learn more about the Doritos brand, visit its website at www.doritos.com or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DoritosUSA or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/DoritosUSA.

About PepsiCo
PepsiCo is a global food and beverage leader with net revenues of more than $65 billion and a product portfolio that includes 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in annual retail sales. Our main businesses – Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola – make hundreds of enjoyable foods and beverages that are loved throughout the world. PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth by investing in a healthier future for people and our planet, which we believe also means a more successful future for PepsiCo. We call this commitment Performance with Purpose: PepsiCo's promise to provide a wide range of foods and beverages for local tastes; to find innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment by conserving energy and water and reducing packaging volume; to provide a great workplace for our associates; and to respect, support and invest in the local communities where we operate. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

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BROADCAST / PRINT / TV MEDIA: Broadcast quality video, photo stills and press information is available to preview, download and share at www.magicbulletmedia.com/MNR/crashthesuperbowl

SOURCE Frito-Lay North America